Painting for profit

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CREATIVITY: Dubai’s second art fair presents works by Durriya Qureshi, Lee Yong Deok, Gu Dexin, Anna Maria Maiolino, and Farhad Moshiri.

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CREATIVITY: Dubai’s second art fair presents works by Durriya Qureshi, Lee Yong Deok, Gu Dexin, Anna Maria Maiolino, and Farhad Moshiri.

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CREATIVITY: Dubai’s second art fair presents works by Durriya Qureshi, Lee Yong Deok, Gu Dexin, Anna Maria Maiolino, and Farhad Moshiri.

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CREATIVITY: Dubai’s second art fair presents works by Durriya Qureshi, Lee Yong Deok, Gu Dexin, Anna Maria Maiolino, and Farhad Moshiri.

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CREATIVITY: Dubai’s second art fair presents works by Durriya Qureshi, Lee Yong Deok, Gu Dexin, Anna Maria Maiolino, and Farhad Moshiri.

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Rising economic prosperity in the Gulf is causing the region's art scene to flourish. Alicia Buller explores how Dubai could provide another vital cultural bridge between the East and the West.

The JP Morgan man in the blue suit is talking serious finance.

"2007 was the best year ever for us in this region," he says, addressing a rapt audience. "We completed 14 landmark transactions worth billions of dollars."

However, behind the CEO's grey corporate-branded perch is - not press cuttings of business wins or pride-of-place company awards - but one of the world's most coveted art pieces, the original ‘Marilyn Monroe' by Andy Warhol. It's just one of the 70 world-class JPMorgan-owned paintings hanging on the surrounding walls.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)-based display marks the first time the investment firm has brought a selection of its 30,000-piece, David Rockefeller-founded art collection to Middle Eastern shores for free public viewing.

"Where the wealth is, people buy more," continues Ghassan Abdul Karim, boss of JPMorgan Middle East and Africa. "They buy more houses, more cars, more art."

So in Dubai, a city that "makes millionaires every day", according to Nasser Al Shaali, CEO of the DIFC Authority, it's no coincidence the city's second art fair - which has doubled in size since its inauguration last year - is due to kick off this week.

A decade ago Dubai's art scene was dominated by folksy drawings of dhows, gathering dust in hotel lobbies and souvenir shops. But today the city is being hailed as an emerging art hotspot - "the next London, the next New York," claims John Martin, director of the Art Dubai art fair. "[Petrodollars] will keep rising and so then will Middle Eastern art."

The 2008 fair will host nearly 70 commercial galleries from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, America, North Africa and Australia. But a lot of the funds for the artworks come largely from local sources, according to Martin. In his opinion, the Dubai market is being propelled by a small clutch of local ‘knowledgeable' collectors.

"These are private buyers who have the resources and can make snap decisions about buying contemporary art," he explains. "The next stage is institutional buyers - corporations." Martin adds that he expects to see more firms, such as JPMorgan, buy and display artworks to demonstrate their commitment to the region and give character to their business.

And where the buyers go, the auctioneers follow. In May 2006, Christie's held the first sale in the region, mainly of Middle Eastern and Indian art. It made US$8.4m, doubling expectations, and was followed by a second US$9.4m sale in February 2007.

What's more, just two weeks ago, the newly-instated Dubai branch of UK auction house Bonhams played host to Iranian Farhad Moshiri's ‘Eshgh' (Love), the first Middle East painting to achieve an auction sale of over US$1m. In addition, US$336,000 was raised for Gulgee's ‘Polo Player' at the sale - the most ever paid for a Pakistani work of art.

"It's an unbelievable result, and proves beyond doubt that the UAE is an emerging commercial hub for modern contemporary art from the region," says Matthew Girling, chief executive, Bonhams, Europe & Middle East.

The days of international auction houses confining their operations to the US and Europe are long gone. The world's auctioneers are regularly opening showrooms in other parts of the world, such as Dubai, Beijing and Moscow - a sure-fire indicator that they are seeking to meet the demands of a globalised and growing art market.

According to last year's World Wealth Report by investment firm Merrill Lynch, 2007 was a year of worldwide economic growth, expanding emerging markets and an increasing number of high net worth individuals, leading to higher demand for luxury consumables.

And this trend is gathering pace around the world, in emerging economies as well as in more developed ones, according to Merrill Lynch. Meanwhile, the wealthiest citizens in emerging markets are becoming enthusiastic collectors, especially for artwork and objects that reflect their cultural and local identities, the report says.

"Nobody should be under the impression that we are in a region that needs to import culture - we don't," warns Alison Collins, owner of Dubai's Majlis Gallery, established in 1978. "It's already got a great culture; it just needs to be built upon. It's just coming back up to the boil."

And with this, Collins doesn't just mean Dubai, but the wider region as whole. Sacha Jafri - a Majlis exhibitor and a prominent UK/Indian artist who recently kicked off a two-year world tour in the city - agrees. "It's not really a Dubai scene as such, but then it is a Dubai scene because they are the hosts and they are brilliant at it," he says. "It's a hub for locals and Indian, Persian, Lebanese and Egyptian artists. That's what makes it great."

The director of Art Dubai agrees that the city acts as a magnet for art around the world, but particularly Middle Eastern and South Asian art.

"Museums and collectors worldwide are really waking up to regional art, and the best place to see that is in Dubai. The city is slap-bang in the middle of the ‘new world order'," says Martin.

"Internationally there has been an increasing interest in art, learning about art and buying art - as residents in Dubai have come to realise this, it has triggered an explosion."

What's more, as Dubai and the world become increasingly moneyed and globalised, artists who previously existed only underground are beginning to shine their lights - thanks to the arrival of auctioneers, dealers and commercial galleries in the region.

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