New art centre launches in Dubai

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For commercial interior designers looking to add the finishing touches to a project, a brand new service recently opened in Dubai should provide the ideal solution. The Dubai Art Centre is the first service to launch in Dubai to offer commercial art on a large scale. With a fully stocked warehouse of thousands of hand painted works of art, in a variety of styles, sizes and colours — the aim is for the centre to provide designers with a ‘one stop solution for artwork’.

Catering for both individual properties and large-scale developments such as hotel projects, the idea for the commercial art business started when directors Mohammed and Asif Khan struggled to find artwork to install in their hotel apartments. “We couldn’t find any art in Dubai of the quality and quantity that we needed,” says Khan. “There are galleries in Dubai where you can buy individual works of art; however we were trying to furnish around 30 to 40 bedrooms so it was a large commission. For big projects there is no where that can supply enough pieces at the right price.”

Around 25 artists currently work with Dubai Art Centre to create original masterpieces, which the artist then sketches out so that other artists can create hand painted replicas many times over — ideal for a hotel project consisting of hundreds of bedrooms for example. Most of the paintings are done in oils or acrylics and all the artwork is highly contemporary, with a wide selection of styles ranging from vibrant floral designs to abstract geometrics. All the artists currently working with the centre are European, however there are plans to introduce an Islamic range in the New Year with calligraphy style motifs. The centre also offers a commissioning service where an artist will work with a conceptual drawing, colour or fabric to produce works specific to an individual project.

A gallery at the front of the warehouse displays the available artworks to customers. “Interior designers can walk in with their clients, have a look around the gallery, chose the art they like and walk out of here with hundreds of works of art,” says Khan.

The centre has so far received a very positive response to the works they carry and has even been asked to exhibit its work. However, Khan comments: “We are not interested in exhibiting. Our aim is not to become involved in the high-end art sector; we aim to produce commercial, quality affordable art”. He adds: “Prices are fixed by size not style. The trade price for a 1m x 1m piece starts as low as Dhs 250. Further discounts are available as quantities increase. This price for an original hand painted piece of art on canvas was previously unavailable to the commercial sector unless they shipped in huge quantities from outside of the UAE.”

There are plans to launch further art centres in Bahrain and Qatar and to eventually expand into India.

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