Art Dubai Downsizes Its 2020 Fair Due to Growing Concern Over the Spread of Coronavirus

Another one down.

Art Dubai announced this morning that it is postponing its 2020
art fair scheduled to take place March 25 through 28 due to the
spread of coronavirus in the Middle East. But the fair’s organizers
are planning to go ahead with a slimmed down program of events and
talks.

“Given the essential role the fair plays in promoting local and
regional artists, we have made the decision to stage a program
tailored to the local cultural community instead, including
existing fair program contributors and thought-leaders,” the
directors of Art Dubai—chief executive Benedict Floyd, artistic
director Pablo del Val, and international director Chloe
Vaitsou—said in a joint statement.

The news announced today, March 3, comes after a heavy week in
the Middle East with new cases of coronavirus being reported in
Dubai, Lebanon and in the regional hotspot Iran, which now has
2,300 cases. Saudi Arabia, which confirmed its first case yesterday
from a Saudi man who had travelled from Iran, has suspended entry
for pilgrims visiting the kingdom’s holy sites.

The new format Art Dubai is scheduled to run on the same dates
and will include a selection of exhibitions, talks and events, the
details of which are due to be announced soon. Planned events
include the Global Art Forum, and “Residents,” a display of work by
African artists created during recent residencies in Dubai.

“The goals and ambitions for this re-configured program maintain
our objective to deliver commercial, institutional and critical
engagement with Dubai’s art ecosystem, a commitment of support to
our local community that we felt an imperative to uphold,” the
fair’s organizers said in their joint statement.

The decision to cancel the commercial heart of the fair was met
with understanding on the part of the local Middle Eastern art
community. “In the present global climate the position taken makes
complete sense,” says Charles Pocock, the managing partner at Meem
Gallery who is an advisor to the Barjeel Art Collection. He thinks
it is the right decision. “Art Dubai has managed this situation
well and shown a great understanding of the grave situation we are
all facing as global citizens,” he says.

For international galleries due to attend the fair the news was
not a surprise. Now they are calculating the consequences. “We
agree with the decision and trust the team’s decision but it is
difficult for us,” says Rakeb Sile, co-founder of Addis Fine Art of
London and Addis Ababa.  “We had to disappoint five artists
who have spent time preparing to show their work at Art Dubai. It’s
devastating for our artists not to be able to come and not
participate,” Sile says. The gallerist drew comfort from the fact
that one of its artists, Tizta Berhanu, is in Dubai preparing for
the Residents section. “We are happy that at least she can show her
work.” Today’s news broke as Sile’s gallery is showing for the
second year at the Armory Show in New York.

The fair’s postponement has left many asking how it will affect
the wider Middle East region, which is already in the midst of a
shaky economic climate. “Given the region’s weak economic
situation, I’m not sure sales would have done well had it gone on.
For others who may have been hopeful of selling something, it will
be yet another lost opportunity,”says the Lebanese art collector
Basel Dalloul, adding that it may be a “relief” for some
dealers.

Dalloul thinks the fair’s organizers took the right decision. He
suspects the postponement of the fair will have an adverse effect
on an already shaky market, although he says he has no doubt that
the strong artists will survive.

The current situation also signals an opportunity for the Middle
Eastern art community and the world at large to find news ways to
support the continuation of the arts during such periods of
uncertainty. “As a collector and long time supporter of Art Dubai,
I am saddened by the cancelation of the fair this year,” says the
collector and lawyer Nassib Abou Khalil. He “respects” the courage
of the art fair for making a difficult decision. The collector, who
has an art-filled home in Dubai, fears the economic impact on the
art market in the region “will not be negligible.” Khalil says that
now more than ever “supporters of the arts in the region have a
personal responsibility to support Art Dubai and the art world in
the Middle East.”

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Concern Over the Spread of Coronavirus appeared first on
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