From 1 March to 5 March, the 16th edition of Art Dubai welcomed well over 30,000 visitors to its Contemporary, Modern, Bawwaba and Digital sections. Altogether, more than 130 galleries from 43 countries participated in the fair. We caught up with curators, artists and galleries from Southeast Asia who took part in the fair to learn about their experiences.
In the Bawwaba section, Yeo Workshop presented the work of artist Maryanto, ‘When the Trees Fall’, which aims to bring public awareness to the overdevelopment of palm oil plantations in South Kalimantan and the detrimental effects this has on the forests. The artist says, “By turning the problems into stories that can be told and heard by many people, I can ensure that these stories do not stay hidden.” He elaborates, “My goal is to bring attention to serious problems that need to be addressed and discussed, in the hope that change is effected. I was pleased to be able to share a hidden story with fairgoers at Art Dubai.”
Audrey Yeo, Founder, Yeo Workshop reflected that the fair was a good size that was segmented well. “I enjoyed seeing the intersection of art from around the world with a high quality of presentation of works from Korea, India, Istanbul, etc.,” says Audrey. “I was able to learn about many great new artists. The talks programmes were engaging and inspiring, from how luxury brands engage with art, to digital futures, to what Dubai is aspiring towards in the fields of art and culture.”
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Art Dubai Digital was curated by Singapore-based Clara Peh. Like Vipash, Clara was glad with how the section worked out, and successfully reflected how the digital and new media art world is expanding. “In many ways, I think the section exceeded my own expectations in that I was unsure of how the section would be received, especially with the cool-down of the NFT markets,” says Clara. “But through conversations and the feedback we received, it seemed like the wider audience understood that the section is focusing on digital art and the works in greater depth this year, and moving away from talk around NFTs, to foster longer-term support for the field.”
Brandon Tay, ‘The Error of Calm Technology’. Image courtesy of the artist and TheUpsideSpace.
