YASMIN ATASSI OF GREEN ART GALLERY, DUBAI, DISCUSSES WHAT TO EXPECT AT ART DUBAI 2010

Image Courtesy of Green Art Gallery, Dubai, U.A.E

Green Art Gallery was one of the first galleries to be established in Dubai, back in 1995, at a time when art form the region was very much under the radar, both regionally and internationally. From the beginning, Green Art Gallery's focus was on art from the region, and it played a key role in promoting artists whose work are now in auctions and are known by many regional collectors. These include Fateh Moudaress, Ahmad Moulla, Ismail Fattah, Hakim Ghazali and others. In 2009, we started including contemporary artists into our program, working in different media, from the region and also from Turkey as we realised that there were extremely strong artists coming from Turkey who were very well known in Turkey (and some internationally) but were relatively unknown to the region.

Of course it was not an easy job trying to sell art back then in Dubai; however, we were lucky enough to start building a solid collector base who believed in these artists and supporting their careers. Most of these collectors have developed since then tremendous and important collections focused on art from the Middle East. Most people think that the current boom just started suddenly in 2005; but actually there were many galleries (and individuals) who were operating in the region, from Dubai to Damascus to Amman to Beirut, Cairo, etc. Of course from 2005 and beyond, key events were influential in spreading awareness about the strength of art from the Middle East, North Africa and Iran. Art Dubai had a tremendous impact in addition to the Gulf's cultural ambitions and projects as well as magazines such as Canvas, Bidoun, etc.

It is very important for people to realise and understand that art and culture from the Middle East did not just erupt suddenly; we have one of the richest cultures in the world. Imagine that back in the 60's, if you wanted to make it as an artist/writer/etc in the region, the validation came from the fact that you must be shown or published in Beirut! I am very inspired by a phrase, which Hans Ulrich Obrist said once: "The protest against forgetting". This is something we all must remind ourselves. Its culture and its history and in the determination and resilience of people, even those working or who worked in the art scene, at a time when it was not "sexy" to do so - these were the pioneers, whether they were artists, gallerists, publishers, etc. We will be having a solo show in our booth for Turkish artist Nazif Topcuoglu, who is one of the most well known artists coming out of Turkey today and whom we felt his work would be very interesting to show in a Middle Eastern context. In our gallery we will be having a solo show for Moroccan artist Hakim Ghazali, showcasing his new work. We gave Hakim his first solo back in 1996, and we have seen him grown, it is very exciting to see that. The British Museum bought as his work as well.

2010 is a very important year for us: in March it will be our 15th year anniversary and we will be celebrating it in Art Dubai! We have noticed that there has not been a rise in talent, rather it is more the possibilities. There were always talented artists from the region. But what differentiates them today is the abundance of possibilities whether in terms of production, education, representation, etc. They are working in various media when in the past, painting was predominant, they have more options of education and the West is taking more interest in their work.

As started above. of course, is was much less sophisticated than it is now, which is fantastic for everyone working in the arts. I mean, who would have imagined that the Tate and British Museum will have their own MENAC (acquisition committees for MENA region)? In my opinion, the recession was one of the best events that happened to the art market here. It now it sounds absurd since, we, as galleries, were affected heavily. But the boom that happened from 2005-2008 was not normal and had a disastrous effect on a market which is so young (in terms of being a "market" in a commercial sense). Speculators turned into "collectors" buying works and then dumping them into auctions, artist’s prices were hiked up abnormally, and nobody was talking about art. Rather everything was discussed in terms of prices. The funny thing is that it became that if you wanted to make it as an artist, your work must be in auction, which is absurd. The thing is, it is very easy for everyone to do well when things are going up… but real strength is to continue going up when things are going down. As galleries, of course we had to be careful and will continue to do so, but galleries will look into opportunities, and they will start thinking more seriously about the artists they take, their programs, and building a serious and solid collector base.

There is also a responsibility on the collectors: they must keep on supporting the artists and the galleries. I am looking forward to seeing more art patrons from the region… even if they are young.
Dubai of course is in a difficult position but the media has exaggerated drastically, and for many people in the West, this is the only voice they hear, but as a local gallery I can tell you that nothing has changed for me since the incident of Dubai's debts. Sales are the same and collectors are still buying.

I think one of Art Dubai's key strengths is that it is somewhat focused on art from the Middle East and Asia. For collectors and museum groups, etc., this is really interesting (especially with the impressive VIP program and Contemparabia).

At the end of the day, these people are not going to make a trip to a fair that mimics Art Basel, Frieze, etc. It needs to have its own identity and this is what makes people coming back. Everyone is interested about art from the region and the Fair is very successful in profiling the best galleries from the region, a great educational forum and a great cultural tour of the region. If I was a collector from the West, this is something not to be missed. Nobody wants to come all the way here to see another fair. They want an experience and want to learn more about art and culture from the region. And this is what Art Dubai offers.”


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