By Pablo del Val, Art Dubai’s Artistic Director

Every year, we collaborate with independent curators across specific sections of the fair, with the aim of pushing the boundaries of contemporary artistic creation and helping to redefine art-historical concepts through a present-day lens.

Art from the Global South is at the heart of Art Dubai, and we aim to showcase this underrepresented geographical area, and to echo the DNA of our rapidly changing home city, Dubai. As a platform dedicated to work from across this wide area, we have a unique vantage point from which to present, question and redefine what constitutes “Global South”, and to provide artists and galleries with a platform to interrogate this very concept and how it continues to evolve.

As such, we are pleased to announce the curators for our 17^th edition, which will take place from 1 to 3 March 2024 (with preview days on 28 and 29 February).

Bawwaba, meaning gateway in Arabic, focuses on solo exhibitions of artist from the Global South and artworks made in the 12 months prior to, or specifically for, Art Dubai. The fifth edition of the section will be curated by Emiliano Valdés, Chief Curator of the Museum of Modern Art in Medellin, Columbia, and will focus on artists who explore the concept of healing on a personal, social and political level.

Art Dubai Modern will be curated by Dr. Christianna Bonin, Assistant Professor of Art History at the American University of Sharjah. It will explore the cultural dynamics of an expanded geographical area that gave rise to today’s Global South. The post-1940s geopolitical landscape redefined relations among artists, musicians, architects, and filmmakers from the region, creating intricate East-East and South-South cultural links that will be highlighted in the section.

Art Dubai Digital’s third edition will be curated by Auronda Scalera and Alfredo Cramerotti, co-directors of IAM-Infinity Art Museum, and will look at new tendencies in digital arts, AI, AR, VR, and NFTs, presenting the section through the lens of advanced technologies and offer possible approaches for the future of art and its perception.

These three sections, alongside Art Dubai Contemporary, will offer visitors to Art Dubai new readings of the past, present and future of artistic production.