Art Dubai setting the scene

It's official. Dubai's thriving art scene is now past the point of being labelled as merely ‘growing' or ‘maturing'. When one looks at the steady stream of impressive work being created across the emirate - not to mention the number of successful galleries in the city - we think it's safe to say Dubai's art scene has graduated from it's emerging status and is now not only leading the way when it comes to creativity in the region, but also revolutionising the manner in which the world views Middle Eastern art.

The city's success in art can be attributed in part to one of Dubai's leading and most successful art fairs, Art Dubai. 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, Art Dubai is a joint venture of the Dubai International Finance Centre, held in partnership with Abraaj Capital and sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels. Taking place for the fifth time in 2011, the rumours are that this year's event is going to be big.

Featuring more than 82 galleries from over 34 countries, the fair will introduce Marker, a dynamic new section of experimental stands curated by Nav Haq; the Global Art Forum, a Gulf-wide collaboration, as well as a new series of high-level collector talks; the third edition of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize; Les Voyages Extraordinaires, a museum-quality high jewellery exhibition by Van Cleef & Arpels; and a series of exciting new projects that include more than 75 artists.

This year's Art Dubai fair will feature a host of well-known and first time exhibitors including Aicon Gallery, New York/London; Artspace Gallery, Dubai; Traffic, Dubai; The Third Line, Dubai; Balice Hertling, Paris; Cardi Black Box, Milan; Artside Gallery, Seoul/Beijing; Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg and many more.

Catch Art Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah from March 16 to 19.

For more information visit www.artdubai.ae