The most recent trend has seen three major hubs develop and shift. The much loved heritage area Bastakiya, with its restored local architecture in Bur Dubai, was a natural site for galleries and art centers but has seen a flux in patronage lately with many galleries opting for the emerging area of DIFC or the popular industrial area of Al Quoz instead. With the exodus of some galleries from Bastakiya there has been room for new arts spaces to open pop-up or satellite spaces with artist in residency programs and studios to rent.

The community has experienced marked fluctuations from unfettered expansion in the mid-Naughties to a distinct contraction and reorganization since the crash of the world economy. With just a handful of galleries ten years ago Dubai boasts over sixty to date with fourteen closing in the last two years and only four new spaces emerging in that time. This growth does not just reflect the consumption of art but its production with organizations like Shelter, Tashkeel, and the JamJar that provide practical resources and work space for artists and designers.

To many it may seem we are overly saturated and that growth has been very top down (and it has) but a closer look reveals organizations like the Emirates Fine Art Society, which was established in 1980, and the Flying House Institute, which is also dedicated to the promotion and preservation of UAE art, maintain a strong presence within the community and helps steer its trajectory. Lest we forget that Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are both key players in the region’s art scene with the Sharjah Biennial and Abu Dhabi’s Art Hub, Sculpture Symposium and Abu Dhabi Art Fair. It is no wonder the UAE is confidently preparing their second pavilion at the world’s greatest nation building art event, the Venice Biennale.

Although it is home to some of the most stellar private collections in the world, within Dubai there are few public monuments, zero public art or street art. However, despite the erroneous semiotics of Dubai’s urban landscape it is a city with a healthy, burgeoning art community. With the majority of galleries, foundations, museums, auction houses and art centers, as well as magazines and journals supporting local and regional artists, they are busy building archives, expanding discourse on Middle Eastern, Islamic and Arab art practices and ideas while promoting the culture of the region to the rest of the world with gusto.

What do you think of Dubai’s cityscape? How do you think it will reflect its artistic/cultural identity in the future?