On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending an 'Art Conversations' talk at Dubai Ladies Club. The key speaker was Sheikh Sultan Al Qassimi who I have been following, with interest, on twitter for some time now. His tweets are always informative and interesting and so I thought it would be wise to take the opportunity to see him speak in person about something he is passionate about. He is the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation in Dubai which consists of more than 600 works of art.
In the last few decades the art scene in the UAE has flourished and has become somewhat of a hub for both national and international art. Persian, Arab, Iranian, Asian, European and American art have all found a home somewhere in the UAE. According to Sheikh Sultan, Dubai in particular has become the 'soul of the country's art world.'
An point I noted with interest was the fact that Dubai or the UAE as a whole is one of the very few countries in the world who have taken art from foreigners living in the country and proudly displayed it in the National Gallery. This, for me, says a lot about the good relationship that the UAE generally has with the many expats who live and work here.
Sheikh Sultan showed a slideshow presentation featuring some of the works in his collection. This included a fascinating piece entitled 'Snow White Without The Dwarfs' by artist Ghada Amer which is a highly controversial piece. You ave to look very closely to see the hidden image but trust me, it is very clever art. Another piece, created in 2008 was entitled 'Democracy is Coming'. This piece by Egyptian artist Huda Lutfi has proved to be very insightful if we reflect on recent events in Egypt. The Arab Spring is happening now and can, and is, reflecting events as they unfold.
The evening was highly entertaining and Sheikh Sultan spoke energetically and enthusiastically and is clearly an expert in his field. He stated "art should be free" and that "it is more beautiful when it is free." However, I couldn't help but notice the cautious undertones in some of his words. Not suprisingly so, when so many writers and intellectuals in the arab world have recently been hampered or restricted in their 'freedom of speech'.
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