November’s round up of Art and Design Fairs across the UAE
It was a colorful November. From the Dubai’s glamorous Dubai Design Week to Abu Dhabi’s flourishing Manarat Al Saadiyat Island, the cities were buzzing with energy and excitement towards hosting the local and international art scene. The Capsule Arts Team had been there to soak in the creativity and visited various art fairs and exhibitions across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and gathered the below snaps and reviews.
Starting with Dubai Design Week, an annual exhibition hosted at Dubai Design District, one of the coolest spots in town. Held from 7 to 12 November, the exhibition had returned for its ninth edition and featured recurring themes of sustainability throughout its art installations and pieces, paying tribute to this year’s Year of Sustainability.
Located adjacent to Dubai Design Week, was the Downtown Design, the Middle East’s only trade fair dedicated to innovative, high-quality design. Running from the 8 to 11 November, the fair displayed international and local design brands such as Jaipur Rugs, Audo, and Casamia to name a few.
Next one on the list, was Dubai Art Nights, visited by our Art Curator, Elyse Kasis. Hosted in DIFC’s Gate Village, featured curated art, pop-up workshops, panel discussions around the theme of “Expressions for Sustainable Change” A two day event packed with excitement as we got to experience a exploration of artistic expressions towards driving sustainable change.
Sharjah has its fair share of local art fairs, the Focal Point, which is Sharjah’s Art Foundation’s highly anticipated art book fair, had returned for a three-day line-up. For its fifth edition, we saw more than 100 local and international publishers. From book launches, talks and artist meetups, it was truly a great visit and an opportunity to connect with fellow book lovers.
Last one for the month, was Abu Dhabi Art. From the 22 to 26 November, we saw Manarat Saadiyat come alive with the 15th edition of fair. It’s largest one to date, representing 92 galleries from 31 countries.
Organized by the UAE’s Department of Culture and Tourism, this year’s edition is noteworthy not only for its breadth, but also for its multicultural emphasis, as it placed a special importance on galleries and artists from the Middle East, South Asia, Africa and beyond. The 92 galleries included the selection of first-time galleries from Georgia, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore and Chile.
Hope you enjoyed our review of November art fairs, we would love to take you through our review of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh’s flourishing Art Fairs.