Highlights from the Ninth Edition of Art Dubai

Art Dubaiâ€™s largest and most international edition to date welcomed 92 participating galleries from 40 countries and featured the work of more than 500 artists

Installation view from Art Dubai 2015 / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the fair preview was inaugurated by the Crown Prince of Dubai, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Art Dubai 2015 also saw HE Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, being awarded the Medal of the Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres by Jack Lang, president of the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, at the fair.

The popular Art Dubai Ladies Preview was opened by HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, wife of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs UAE.

Art Dubai 2015 / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Art Dubaiâ€™s largest and most international edition to date welcomed 92 participating galleries from 40 countries and featured the work of more than 500 artists. With a combined value in excess of US$46m, galleries reported healthy sales to local, regional and international collectors and institutions from the moment the buzzing collectorsâ€™ preview opened on March 17, and throughout the week.

Mashreq Private Banking, the exclusive partner of Art Dubai Modern, launched its corporate collection at the fair, acquiring twentieth-century works from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Over the course of four public days of the fair (March 18-21, 2015), Art Dubai attracted over 25,000 guests ranging from the worldâ€™s leading curators to UAE-based enthusiasts.

The winner of the seventh Abraaj Group Art Prize, Yto Barrada, exhibited her specially commissioned work alongside shortlisted artists, Mounira Al Solh, Setareh Shahbazi and Sarnath Bannerjee in a dedicated exhibition, â€˜Before Historyâ€™, guest-curated by Omar Kholeif.

The Global Art Forum, themed around technologies and their impact on the world of art and culture, attracted capacity audiences throughout its sessions both in Kuwait and Dubai. Featuring over fifty high-profile speakers from the region and around the world, the Forum firmly reinforced its position as the regional hub for discussion and discovery. Audiences interacted with new site-specific works and performances from eleven commissioned artists and collectives, part of the dynamic Art Dubai Projects programme.

For the youngest creatives, The Sheikha Manal Little Artists Program, held in partnership with The Cultural Office, featured workshops and discovery tours led by commissioned artist Nicolas Paris, working with 15 UAE-based artists. For the first time, the artists worked with Dubai-based schools in the run-up to the fair, and ran special workshops for teachers at the fair. Art Dubai 2015 also saw the launch of â€˜Fadaâ€™aatâ€™, a special exhibition presented by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, exploring the spaces created in the intersection between culture, history and innovation.

As a prelude to the forthcoming Metro Museums, the innovative, unique exhibition featured thematic spaces curated by medium and theme, including Islamic manuscripts and coins, maritime heritage, literature, photography and a live artistâ€™s studio. The exhibition was inaugurated by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the opening of the fair.