Art Dubai Announces Full Programme and Highlights of its 2019 Edition

Art Dubai 2018. Photo by Alma Hodzic. © Islamic Arts Magazine

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Art Dubai, the world’s most internationally diverse art fair, returns March 20-23, 2019 for its 13th edition with works by more than 500 contemporary and modern artists from across the world exhibited by over 90 galleries from 41 countries.

Art Dubai’s new structure includes four main sections complementing each other, which will offer visitors greater access and deeper engagement with artists and galleries from non-Western geographies and present a holistic platform where the gallery and community-driven programmes coalesce to showcase a truly international view of art.

Art Dubai 2018. Photo by Alma Hodzic. © Islamic Arts Magazine

“For this year’s edition, we’ve made some changes to the layout of the fair, general look and feel and added new content to give visitors an interconnected experience: from the gallery halls to the talks and performances. Art Dubai has always strived to be original in its content, in the diversity of its gallery line-up and its quality non-commercial offering and in keeping with that, we’ve added new sections which will add depth to our programming and when juxtaposed with the commercial galleries will create dialogue and the opportunity to explore art and new perspectives,” said Pablo de Val, Artistic Director of Art Dubai.

As the highlight of the region’s cultural calendar fixture and the world’s preeminent fair for Contemporary and Modern art from the region and other geographies usually outside of art’s mainstream dialogue, Art Dubai 2019 brings with it a tangible sense of community and cross-cultural exchange.

In the gallery halls, this is evident in the return of Art Dubai’s Residents programme, which this year hosts 12 artists from Latin America to ‘deep dive’ into the UAE, its culture and art scene; and new gallery section, Bawwaba, which aims to give visitors a curated reading of current artistic developments within the Global South. Elsewhere, this interest in community building, inclusivity and promoting new and alternative perspectives is reflected in UAE NOW, a new segment which will showcase the country’s emerging independent self-organised art platform; an exhibition by the artists participating in Campus Art Dubai 7.0 programme; ‘SOLAROCA’, Art Dubai 2019’s installation commission, an interactive and intercultural space created by Brazilian artist collective OPAVIVARÁ!; and the performance programme, developed by contemporary art institution, Kunsthalle Lissabon, which explores the unifying aspects of communal celebrations as powerful tools to think about the world around us. Performances include A Walk into the Night by carnival artist Marlon Griffiths created specifically for the fair with 150 performers from Dubai’s Filipino community and Samson Young’s Muted Situation #2: Muted Lion Dance.

Art Dubai 2018. Photo by Alma Hodzic. © Islamic Arts Magazine

Programmes such as the Sheikha Manal Little Artists Program provide platforms for knowledge-building and nurture creativity in a new generation; while Global Art Forum, the largest arts conference of its kind in the region, and Art Dubai Modern Symposium continue to deliver a series of diverse and discursive talks and events.

The fair is sponsored by Julius Baer and Piaget, with Madinat Jumeirah as the home of the event. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is a strategic partner of Art Dubai and supports the fair’s year-round education programme. BMW is the exclusive car partner of Art Dubai.