It was a scene reminiscent of pre-pandemic Dubai: Art lovers dressed in
designer clothes or alternative fashion, walking around in one of the
city's many swanky locations. Bloggers, VIPs and influencers filming on
their mobile phones. People mingling and laughing.To get more
latest entertainment news, you can visit shine news official website.
After being canceled in March last year due to the coronavirus pandemic,
Art Dubai returned this week to the sunbaked desert metropolis it calls
home, becoming one of the first in-person international art fairs of
2021. The show is part of the city-state's efforts to reopen to
international trade and tourism that power its economy.
“Art Dubai was the first art fair to be canceled, just when the pandemic
started" and now it's the first to be back live, said Pablo del Val,
the show's artistic director.
“I think it’s been an emotional, fantastic moment," he added. “I think
everyone was looking forward to stop looking to screens and having a
physical relationship with a work of art.”
This year's installment is different, however. Typically held at the
vast conference space of Madinat Jumeirah in the shadow of Dubai's
iconic, sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel, the 2021 event instead came to
Dubai International Financial Center. Temporary galleries sprung up
around the center's Gate House, the landmark structure at the business
hub.
Signs of the pandemic are still everywhere: Social-distancing signs and
hand sanitizer dispensers stand visible in the tents housing the
galleries. People attending the fair can book a specific time slot in
advance to guarantee their entry. Those worried about being around a
crowd can take a virtual tour of the fair from home.
Even some of the art is teleconferencing into the event. Art Dubai
introduced a program allowing galleries unable to travel to Dubai to
connect to visitors via video.
The fair features 50 contemporary and modern galleries from 31
countries, specializing in regions that are not main players on the
international art scene. It also focuses on artists from the Middle
East.
One of them is Rashed al-Shashai, a prominent figure of the contemporary
Saudi art scene. He recently designed a piece entitled Concise Passage,
2020 in the kingdom's al-Ula historical district — a feature made of
shipping crates divided by a pink-lighted walkway symbolizing a region
that was once a key stop on an incense trade route linking Arabia to
Asia.
“Taking part in this fair shows the determination of art to be part of
bringing life back to normal, for people and humanity," al-Shashai said.
"It helps people live in a better way, even when there are disasters
and tragedies happening in the world.”
As Dubai went into a lockdown in early 2020, the city's big events shut
down, along with its long-haul carrier Emirates. The autocratically
ruled emirate moved aggressively to reopen in July to tourists.
Coronavirus numbers however spiked to levels unseen following New Year's
Eve. Other countries also blamed Dubai for outbreaks of coronavirus
variants.
Since then, reported daily new infection numbers have dropped to over
2,000, from highs of nearly 4,000 at the worst of the winter. The United
Arab Emirates is vaccinating at one of the quickest rates in the world,
hoping to be ready for Dubai hosting its Expo 2020 world's fair in
October, after the pandemic forced a delay of the event last year.
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