Dubai: A huge city-wide celebration of arts and culture will kick off in March in Dubai, activating some of the most prominent global fairs like Art Dubai and Design Days Dubai as well as other cultural events across various venues.

Thousands of art lovers from across the country and the world are expected to make a beeline for various locations in the city in March and April, when the third edition of Dubai Art Season by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) begins.

With all these events, one can see the huge development of the art scene in Dubai.

Part of the big celebration is the tenth edition of Art Dubai, which will see over 500 exhibiting artists representing 70 nationalities display their unique works of arts, ranging from paintings to installations, from March 16 to 19 at Madinat Jumeirah.

With 94 galleries from 40 countries joining the fair this year in three main gallery programmes — Contemporary, Modern and Marker — Antonia Carver, fair director of Art Dubai, said the fair has become the leading art fair of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, attracting over 25,000 people each year to works never seen before.

“This year will see new countries represented in the gallery halls, including Georgia, Ghana, Oman, Palestine, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. We have more UAE galleries than ever before, which is an indication of the dynamic growth of the local scene over the past decade,” she said.

Forty per cent of the exhibiting artists are women, she added. “It is a higher percentage than the majority of other international art fairs.”

The Marker Gallery halls this year are focusing on the Philippines, whose arts are underrepresented, she said. “A young generation of artists with lots of energy and enthusiasm will display their vibrant works of textiles, videos and installations in these halls.”

Like every year, a number of community programmes and events take place alongside the fair. “A new project called the Wedding Project will see 15 artists perform an 11-course wedding banquet.”

There is also an exhibition by winners of the Abraaj Group Art Prize, RCA secret Dubai, The Global Art Forum, The Shaikha Manal Artist Programme and a host of other events.

Art Dubai is being 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, and in partnership with Abraaj Group and Dubai Culture.

Lubna Al Shamsi, project leader of Dubai Art Season, said Dubai will be turned into an open museum for two months where there will be all sorts of activities around the city, even at malls and public areas.

Al Fahidi Historical neighbourhood will host the SIKKA Art Fair, which brings commissioned creative works in visual and performing arts, music and film by artists and collectives from the GCC.

“Hundreds of artists will be flying in to showcase their works. There will be workshops, festivals, music workshops, digital art installations and more. People can download Dubai Culture’s app or visit the website to know where things are happening and at which venue,” Al Shamsi said.

Event details

Art Dubai: March 16-19, Madinat Jumeirah

- The Wedding Project

- RCA Secret Dubai (Visitors will be able to buy original artworks by local and international artists with proceeds supporting university scholarships)

- Shaikha Manal Little Artist Programme

- Global Art Forum 10th edition

- Piaget rare jewellery exhibition

- Julius Baer exhibition featuring artist Shirana Shahbazi

Design Days Dubai: March 14-18, ‘The Venue’, Downtown Dubai (Brings collectible and limited edition design objects)

SIKKA Art Fair: March 13-24, Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood