The future was: Wallpaper* explores Art Dubai 2016

Garden of Earthly Delights, by Priyantha Udagedara, 2016.
Wallpaper* brings you the very best of the Art Dubai fair. Pictured: Garden of Earthly Delights, by Priyantha Udagedara, 2016
(Image credit: Courtesy Saskia Fernando Gallery)

Three decades ago, when Leila Heller opened her New York gallery with a young Iranian American artist, she asked him to change his name fearing possible American disdain for an artist born in Tehran. Since then, the work of YZ Kami has been collected and exhibited at New York’s Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, The Whitney and the Smithsonian, as well as many other museums worldwide. This year, the same artist takes up 14,000 sq ft of sublime space at Heller’s first international gallery, located in the burgeoning Alserkal Avenue district during the week of Art Dubai. Itself one decade established, the festival is spearhead by numerous events and interventions that have grown to make Art Dubai a most curious and culturally appealing global art fair.

Alserkal Avenue, a repurposed old industrial space in the otherwise little-known Al Quoz, was founded by Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal in 2007 and following an expansion of 250,000 sq ft in 2015, can now be considered one of the hottest endroits for permanent gallery space and roving art shows imaginable. This includes one during Art Dubai for London’s Royal College of Art (entitled 'RCA Secret Dubai'), and later this year the site will boast a new event space designed by architecture firm OMA. The times they are a changing.

This is the message predominant throughout the many activities on Art Dubai’s program. Taking place within the confines of the fair itself at the sprawling Madinat Jumeirah, the title for this year's Global Art Forum is 'The Future Was'. This tenth edition of the Forum – which began simultaneously in London and Dubai in January 2016 and continued at Art Dubai – gave compelling voice to the way artists, technologists and historians have imagined and are shaping the future. And according to Oxford-educated urbanist Rashid Bin Shabib, The Future Was Dubai.

Founders of the interdisciplinary practice Cultural Engineering – which was nominated for an Agha Khan architecture award back in 2010 – Rashid and brother Ahmed have spent ten years advancing the urban identity of contemporary Gulf culture and cite how, in 1972, Corbusier-collaborator George Candilis created a masterplan for Dubai. The brothers’ contribution to the Global Art Forum brought forward the ideals of modernist John Harris and the work of Greek architect Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis who also planned the cities of Detroit and Islamabad, presenting a compelling visual history of the implied, unrealised and jettisoned ambitions of Dubai’s master plan.

Throughout the city during Art Dubai, satellite shows and partnered events have morphed to become a comprehensive festival, Art Week, with artist-lead creativity at Sikka Art Fair, the first initiative of its kind founded by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority to showcase Emirati based artistic talent; and the patron-lead activity at Tashkeel, where creatives rent inexpensive space to work. The Wedding Project, presented in collaboration with the Delfina Foundation, is a new performative project, and this year two rooms at the Madinat were transformed into a wedding hall with ticketed, 11-course gala dinners on offer.

Design Days Dubai, curated by Cyril Zammit, coincides with Art Dubai and showcased a fresh and burgeoning design scene. Within the art fair itself, founded by British ex-pat Ben Floyd, curated by Antonia Carver and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a plethora of galleries from the entire MENASA (Middle East North Africa South Asia) region sit confidently alongside those from other continents. Ninety-four galleries from 40 countries in total are represented, with MENASA making up half of these. In addition, 45 per cent of participating artists were female – a higher proportion than any other art fair.

Partner d3 (Dubai Design District) initiated its own activity during the week. This included Mario Testino’s first exhibition in the Middle East and Dubai Photo, a curated journey featuring 23 countries. Unlike Art Dubai, Dubai Photo is not a commercial enterprise, but an exercise in exposition in which nothing was for sale. It was art for art’s sake, with the highlight being the collection of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, who has collated a wealth of engaging images, cataloging the growth of Dubai since the 1960s. These include emotional images of the first schools, children at wooden desks in the desert and one of energetic teens in anticipation of Dubai's first cinema, Al Watan – powered by an electric generator that also provided coloured lighting at the cinema entrance. In the photograph, a young man uses a megaphone to advertise the screening while others peruse a storyboard of stills. It's an enticing hark back to the future of Dubai.

Airplanes Shot in clouds, by David LaChapelle, 2014

As tradition dictates, fair-goers had the opportunity to peruse big name items, like work from world-renowned photographer David LaChapelle. Pictured: Aristocracy Three, by David LaChapelle, 2014. 

(Image credit: Courtesy Gallery Templon)

XIV, from Ahmet Doğu Ipek's series 'Construction Regime', 2015

Istanbul based artist Ahmet Doğu Ipek’s practice can be described as diligent and painstaking. Pictured: XIV, from Ahmet Doğu Ipek's series 'Construction Regime', 2015. 

(Image credit: Courtesy SANITORIUM Gallery)

Night Singers, by Barthélémy Toguo, 2014.

Parisian Galerie Lelong presented a broad mix of work this year, including colourful watercolours from Cameroonian artist Barthélémy Toguo. Pictured: Night Singers, by Barthélémy Toguo, 2014. Courtesy Galerie Lelong

(Image credit: Photography: Fabrice Gibert)

Detour, by Abdulnasser Gharem, 2015.

The plethora of galleries from the entire MENASA (Middle East North Africa South Asia) region sit confidently alongside those from other continents. Pictured: Detour, by Abdulnasser Gharem, 2015. 

(Image credit: Courtesy the artist and Galerie Krinzinger)

 Dubai Culture & Arts Authority’s installation at Design Days Dubai

Throughout the city during Art Dubai, satellite shows and partnered events have morphed to become a comprehensive art week with artist-led creativity. Pictured: Dubai Culture & Arts Authority’s installation at Design Days Dubai

(Image credit: designed by UAE-based Fortune Penniman)

Another Day Lost (pictured) is a series of installations by Syrian-born, UK-based artist Issam Kourbaj

Taking the title of a Fairouz song, Another Day Lost (pictured) is a series of installations by Syrian-born, UK-based artist Issam Kourbaj, inspired by the refugee crisis and made out of discarded books, sheet music, aerial photography, maps, medicine packaging and matches. Courtesy the artist

(Image credit: Photography: Mathew Hodgkin)

Day Lost Central Books By Issam Kourbaj

Kourbaj conceptualised the installation back in 2015, and it has since traveled to three different continents, as if making a migration of its own. Pictured: Another Day Lost, 2015

(Image credit: Issam Kourbaj)

Refugee, by Extrastruggle, 2016.

The migrant crisis was also addressed by Istanbul-based artist Memed Erdener, who first began his multifaceted project 'Extrastruggle' in 1997. His politically motivated work was represented this year by Galerie Zilberman. Pictured: Refugee, by Extrastruggle, 2016. 

(Image credit: Courtesy the artist and Galerie Zilberman)

Elephant, by Anjali Srinivasan, 2015.

Contemporary glass artist Anjali Srinivasan told Wallpaper* that, 'the gradual disappearance of my home country India’s glass bangle-makers saddens me. I seek the possibility of overcoming the impending loss of a craft-form.' Pictured: Elephant, by Anjali Srinivasan, 2015.

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist and Design Days WASL)

'Chair', by Studio Muju Moza.

Art organisation Tashkeel presented the four designers of its Tanween Programme – Amer Aldour, Zuleika Penniman, Jumana Taha and Mentalla Said of Studio Muju – and unveiled their limited edition design pieces. Pictured: 'Chair', by Studio Muju Moza. 

(Image credit: Courtesy Tashkeel)

Pictured left: Weaving No. 41, by Hassan Sharif, 2015. Right: Simmer Ring, by Hassan Sharif, 2015.

Born and raised in Dubai, Hassan Sharif is considered to be a pioneer of experimental art practice in the UAE and Middle East. This year he showed his abstract wall-hangings with Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde. Pictured left: Weaving No. 41, by Hassan Sharif, 2015. Right: Simmer Ring, by Hassan Sharif, 2015. 

(Image credit: Courtesy the artist and Isabelle van den Eynde)

Dutch Creative Industries Frame Works By Near Studio Mieke Meijer

Design Days Dubai, curated by Cyril Zammit coincides with Art Dubai, showcased a fresh and burgeoning design scene. Pictured: 'Frame Works', by Studio Mieke Meijer. 

(Image credit: Courtesy the artist and Isabelle van den Eynde)

Squad Design Derwishe By Joe Booabbood

'Derwishe', by Joe Bou Abboud. 

(Image credit: Courtesy Squad Design at Design Days Dubai)

Squad Design Square Stool By Karl Chucri

'Square stools', by Karl Chucri. 

(Image credit: Courtesy Squad Design at Design Days Dubai)

Traxler Studio presented their stunning light installation

A duo who were named as one of Wallpaper*s 'Top 20 Under 40' last November, Mischer'Traxler Studio presented their stunning light installation, 'Limited Moths – Catocala Conversa' (detail pictured). 

(Image credit: Courtesy Victor Hunt Designart Dealer)

installation view of Orange Gallery at Dubai Photo Exhibition

Partner Dubai Design District (d3) held two photography exhibitions that week: ‘Heat’, Mario Testino’s first exhibition in the Middle East; and, Dubai Photo Exhibition, a magnificent curated journey representing 23 countries. Pictured: installation view of Orange Gallery at Dubai Photo Exhibition

(Image credit: Courtesy Saskia Fernando Gallery)

Farouk Ibrahim Egyptian President 'Sadat' reads daily newspapers at his home in Giza, 1978

The Photo Show was art for art’s sake, the highlight being the collection of the Crown Prince of Dubai, who has collated a collection of engaging images cataloging the growth of Dubai since the 1960s. Pictured: Farouk Ibrahim Egyptian President 'Sadat' reads daily newspapers at his home in Giza, 1978

(Image credit: Courtesy Saskia Fernando Gallery)

The collection included emotional images of the first schools and children at wooden desks in the desert

The collection included emotional images of the first schools and children at wooden desks in the desert

(Image credit: Courtesy Saskia Fernando Gallery)

INFORMATION

Art Dubai ran from 16–19 March. For more information, visit Art Dubai’s website