Important ArtInsight conference on Middle Eastern art market in London – event alert

MIDDLE EAST CONTEMPORARY ART LONDON CONFERENCES

ArtInsight, the events partner of leading art market research firm, ArtTactic, has organised what we think looks to be a very important conference for early October in London. State of the Art – Middle East [The Future of the Middle East Contemporary Art Market] will focus on trends and opportunities in the Middle Eastern contemporary art scene.

Artwork by Houria Niati. Image courtesy of Janet Rady Fine Art.

As detailed in the latest press release from ArtInsight, State of the Art – Middle East will include talks and in-depth panel discussions with leading figures from all facets of the Middle Eastern art world, including curators, gallerists, consultants, museum professionals, artists, patrons/collectors, auction house specialists and art market experts. With this event, ArtInsight hopes to provide an comprehensive insider’s perspective of both market and artistic trends in the Middle East today, and into the future.

Key issues and topics to be explored and debated at State of the Art – Middle East will include:

• The impact of substantial museum building plans and activities throughout the region
• Collector opportunities: The effect of the rapid and growing visibility of Middle Eastern artists across the international art scene and art market
• The significance of the roles of auction houses, art fairs and galleries, in the development of the region’s art market

Leading speakers listed are:

• Lulu Al-Sabah: Founding Partner, JAMM-Art
• Alia Al-Senussi: Collector, Curator and Advisor
• Bashar Al-Shroogi: Director, Cuadro Fine Art Gallery (Dubai)
• Maryam Homayoun Eisler: Leading Patron/Collector and Contributing Editor
• John Martin: Co-founder and former Fair Director, Art Dubai
• Ahmed Mater: Artist
• Jessica Morgan: Curator, Contemporary Art, Tate Modern
• Anders Petterson: Founder and Managing Director, ArtTactic
• Dr Venetia Porter: Curator, Islamic and Contemporary Middle East, The British Museum
• Janet Rady: Director, Janet Rady Fine Art
• Stephen Stapleton: Director, Edge of Arabia
• Steve Sabella: Artist
• Roxane Zand: Director, Middle East & Gulf Region, Sotheby’s
• Conference Moderator Jeffrey Boloten: Co-founder and Managing Director, ArtInsight

State of the Art – Middle East [The Future of the Middle East Contemporary Art Market] will take place on Friday 8 October this year and runs from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Asia House in London. The £195 conference fee includes a Halal lunch and there is a student discount available. For bookings, visit www.artinsight.eventbrite.com.

MS/KN

Related Topics: Middle Eastern artists, promoting art, art market

Related Posts:

• Globalisation of contemporary art market evident growth of art fairs – The Economist – August 2010 – comments on the globalisation of art and how art fairs accelerate the transnational exposure of artists, mentions Abu Dhabi Art
• Sheikh Sultan opens private collection to public putting Sharjah on the UAE art map – August 2010 – an overview of the collection and the first exhibition of works
• Sotheby’s to hold first ever international auction house sale of calligraphy in in Doha – July 2010 – Hurouf: The Art of the World showcased various works: very early Islamic calligraphies, modern and contemporary Arabic, Farsi and Ottoman Turkish
• Middle East art scene today is like London in nineties – Judith Greer – international art collector – April 2009 – an important US collector’s thoughts on the 2009 art scene in the Middle East
• The Dubai art market and its future – Nation, Guardian – December 2008 – discusses the success the Dubai art market was continuing to enjoy at the beginning of the global recession

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Antonia Carver named Art Dubai director, lends Middle Eastern art insight to fair

ART PROFESSIONALS ART INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS MIDDLE EASTERN ART INDUSTRY

Antonia Carver, an arts writer and administrator who is often credited with pushing contemporary Middle Eastern art into the limelight, has been named Fair Director of Art Dubai. She succeeds co-founder John Martin, who remains on the fair’s board.

Carver has been living in Dubai for the past eight years and is currently editor-at-large of Bidoun Magazine and director of Bidoun Projects. She has been a member of this renowned Middle Eastern arts organisation since its founding in 2004 and will remain on their board.

Antonia Carver at the 2009 Dubai International Film Festival. Taken from zimbio.com.

The fifth edition of Art Dubai takes place in March 2011, coinciding with Sharjah Biennial 10, and as quoted on ARTINFO,

Officials from the fair say that they plan to work closely with the Sharjah Biennale to raise the international awareness of artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia as they expand into those regions. Recently there has been a surge in contemporary art in the Middle East, as wealthy locals have flocked to international and regional art fairs, snapping up works along the way.

So what changes, if any, does new Fair Director Antonia Carver aim to make to Art Dubai? As she points out in an interview with Time Out Dubai,

“Any fair is ultimately a place to do business, but Art Dubai is also one of the city’s premier cultural events. We’re continuing with the Global Art Forum and projects, as well as educational events, and there’s more to come. At the last fair I was the director of Bidoun Projects: we commissioned projects such as artist Daniel Bozhkov’s ‘World’s Fastest Tour of Art Dubai’. We want to continue with these types of events – they’re different to what other fairs do and they’re a way to help audiences interact with the work.”

She has a deep knowledge and understanding of Middle Eastern contemporary art although, as she states in a 2008 interview with ForYourArt, this is a term only recently coined:

“Dubai has – dramatically – established itself as a commercial art capital in the last 2-3 years. This has meant that for the first time, in commercial terms at least, it’s possible to refer to ‘Middle Eastern art,’ and compare this nascent market with India, China, Latin America, and so on.”

On the Middle Eastern art market she is quoted as saying in The Art Newspaper that…

“There’s never been such a level of international interest in the region and its art and culture. There is a new maturity in the market with a group of young Emirati and UAE-based collectors who are interested in how the market works and are looking at international as well as regional artists.”

Carver graduated in 1994 and since then has worked in publishing and the arts in Sydney, Australia and London. She was a correspondent for The Art Newspaper and has contributed to journals, newspapers and exhibition catalogues worldwide. As a film curator, she is a member of the programming teams for the Dubai International Film Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival, specialising in Arab and Iranian cinema.

KN

Related Topics: Middle Eastern artists, events – fairs, art professionals

Related Posts:

• Xu Zhen takes on Middle Eastern identities and cultures as new artists’ collective alias MadeIn at the Ikon Gallery, UK – June 2010 – an almost review-style overview of this unique exhibition
• Abu Dhabi Art – a major new art calendar event just announced – July 2009 – interesting excerpts from the press release announcement
• Where is the Sharjah Art Museum heading? – Manal Ataya, Sharjah Museum’s director – June 2009 – tidbits from a video interview with The Art Museum
• How art from half of Asia has been missed – interview with Leeza Ahmady ACAW director – May 2009 – a fascinating Art Radar interview about getting the Middle East on the Asian art map
• Art Dubai 2009 – who sold what to whom? 15 galleries talk to Art Radar – March 2009 – direct quotes from attending gallerists on prices and popularity

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for more on the Middle Eastern art industry