artBahrain.org

DUBAI. The 5th edition of Art Dubai attracted more than 20,000 art worlders with a 30 percent increase in international visitors. With 81 galleries from 34 countries, Art Dubai 2011 closed on Saturday, 19 March with strong sales from international and regional institutions in addition to collectors from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the United States.

Considered as the largest and most diverse edition, this year’s programmes established Art Dubai as a cultural force to be reckoned with. Art collectors, artists, museum directors, curators and cultural journalists from all over the world enjoyed an extensive programme of collateral events.

Engaging dialogues through the Global Art Forum, which developed over the five years through a partnership between Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage (ADACH), Ministry of Culture, Kingdom of Bahrain and other panel programmes, were witnessed by attendees, with speakers including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Exhibitions and Programmes, and Director of International Projects, Serpentine Gallery; Germano Celant, Director, Fondazione Prada; Rashid Rana, artist; Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, Founder, Barjeel Art Foundation; Wassan Al Khudhairi, Director, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art; and Vasif Kortun, Director of Research and Programs, SALT, and Curator, UAE Pavilion for the Venice Biennale 2011.

Bahrain represented by Camille Zakharia
Photos of the ramshackle Bahraini fisherman's huts and piers by Camille Zakharia were on display at the Lucy Mackintosh gallery from Lausanne. The collection was part of the Reclaim project presented by the Kingdom of Bahrain at the Venice architecture biennale last summer initiated by Bahrain's Ministry of Culture, run by Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa.

Art Dubai live
An interactive video coverage of the fair can be viewed at www.artdubailive.ae where galleries’ stands are represented and interviews filmed throughout the fair as well as footage of the programmes that took place this year and those of the past.