Art Dubai to begin from March 21; 74 galleries to showcase their art

KOLKATA: The sixth edition of Art Dubai, the well-known international art fair in the Menasa (Middle East/North Africa/South Asia) region, will take place between March 21 and March 24. Alongside a selection of international galleries, Art Dubai features an innovative, non-commercial programme of talks, projects and educational initiatives.

It fields a carefully selected roster of 74 galleries from 32 countries, showing work by over 500 artists. The fair is held in partnership with Abraaj Capital, sponsored by Cartier and hosted by Madinat Jumeirah.

Four Indian galleries have been selected to represent their work at this art fair. The galleries include Chemould Prescott Road (Mumbai), Experimenter (Kolkata), Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke (Mumbai) and Seven Art Limited (New Delhi).

Two international galleries, Grosvenor Vadehra (London) and Aicon (London/New York), specialising in Indian art, are also participating in Art Dubai 2012.

While Grosvenor Vadehra is paying tribute to the late Modernist pioneer M.F. Husain, Aicon Gallery will present an array of India's modern and contemporary artists including Debanjan Roy, Anjolie Ela Menon, Raghu Rai and Ram Kumar.

""Over the past decade, Dubai has become known as an international art hub. This growth has been organic, with a scene characterised by enthusiastic, enquiring audiences and dedicated local patrons. Art Dubai is both a catalyst in this development and illustrative of it,"" says Antonia Carver, Art Dubai's fair director.

She adds, ""This year's fair promises to deliver an unrivalled collection of varied yet tailored programmes for everyone, from the world's leading collectors and art professionals to students and families.

We've been proud to see such enthusiasm and support for Art Dubai from gallerists, new and old, over the past five years, throughout the Middle East and globally; our partners - galleries, institutions, artists, curators, collectors, sponsors and the media - have been the driving force behind making Art Dubai the distinct cultural platform that it has become.'