After Dubai’s Biggest Art Fair Was Cancelled, the UAE Government Swiftly Purchased More Than $400,000 of Work by Local Artists

After Art Dubai and other events
in the United Arab Emirates were cancelled or pushed
online in the face of the global health situation, cutting off
a much-needed lifeline for many galleries and artists in the
region, the country’s government decided to reach into its own
coffers to buy some of the art itself. 

The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs’s Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy has purchased
more than AED 1.5 million ($408,000) in art made by Emirati artists
in just a few weeks. The work will be placed in UAE embassies
around the globe through what is informally called the Artists in
Embassies program (an initiative similar to the United States’s own
Art in Embassies program, which places American art in ambassadors’
offices worldwide).

Though conceived before the
outbreak, the Foreign Affairs Office jump-started the program as a
means of supporting the art community in the face of
crisis.

“With the cancellation of the
many art events that were scheduled to take place this season, we
wanted to send a message of solidarity to our artists,” the
Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh told The
National. “It is a
message that demonstrates our deep appreciation and support for the
local arts, and acknowledging that they are a critical part of the
national identity.”

Nusseibeh, who is overseeing the
initiative, said the ministry has acquired work for 10 embassies so
far and will continue to add work to the collection until the
majority of branches are spoken for.

“We want to lend our support to
everyone who is part of the country’s rich artistic ecosystem,” he
added.

The artworks were acquired under
the guidance of a committee of curators, historians, and other
experts who sought to build a collection that represented the
diversity of art-making in the Emirates. Nusseibeh also consulted
with diplomats across the world to match artwork to their
offices.

Before the works are placed,
they’ll go on view in a virtual exhibition hosted by Alserkal
Avenue later this month. Alserkal, a hub of art venues in Dubai,
just launched its new interactive website
yesterday, giving users the chance
to tour real spaces in 3D.  

Art Dubai, the UAE’s biggest
international art event, technically postponed its 14th
edition to the spring of next year, through the fair has moved
much of the programming planned for this year’s event—which was
originally scheduled to open this Monday—online. You can watch
series of talks, performances, and other programs on the
fair’s website
now and inquire about works that
would have been on view via its digital catalogue.

The post After Dubai’s Biggest Art Fair Was Cancelled, the
UAE Government Swiftly Purchased More Than $400,000 of Work by
Local Artists appeared first on artnet News.