Dubai: Women have been assured exclusive access to see the works of over 500 artists from all over the world at Art Dubai 2013 as the event marks Ladies Day on March 20. Art Dubai opens to the public on March 21, with a programme of curator-led tours, children’s workshops and book launches.
Art Dubai 2013 is being held from March 20-23, and is hosting 75 galleries from 30 countries — making it among the most globalised of art fairs. It is part of Art week — the umbrella programme that includes several art events across the UAE. Art week includes Art Dubai, Design Days Dubai, Sikka, Sharjah Biennial and Abu Dhabi Festival.
Art Dubai is held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, was among the first visitors to the fair yesterday, as it opened to artists, curators, collectors, and over 75 visiting international museum groups on Tuesday.
Antonia Carver, director of the fair, said that the Global Art Forum_7, which runs alongside Art Dubai, has grown over the years. “There are over 40 contributors.” The forum — titled ‘It Means This’ — is now in Dubai, running from March 20-23, after it marked its presence in Doha from March 17-18.
The Global Art Forum sessions will start at 2pm daily and include lectures, presentations and discussions in fields of art, philosophy, geopolitics and literature to name a few.
A new addition to Art Dubai this year is ‘Sculpture on the Beach’, a curated exhibition of sculptural and large-scale works by 11 artists located on the Mina A’Salam beach, a five-minute walk from the gallery halls.
This year, the focus of the ‘Marker Programme’, which is a set of curated concept stands located in the fair’s main gallery halls, is West African artists and art. It is curated by Lagos-based Bisi Silva.
Silva said that she chose the theme ‘Cities in transition’ for the collection, not to restrict the artists, but to create coherence in the exhibited work. This year’s marker exhibits the works of 20 artists, from 5 West African countries.
Carver announced that, next year, the Marker Programme will focus on works from Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Art Dubai has partnered with the World Food Programme (WFP) and pledged all proceeds from ticket, catalogue and book sales to families displaced by the unrest in Syria.
