When art people talk about art, there is a certain code to follow. Never “building”, always “architecture”. Never “topic”, always “discourse”. Never “how much?”, always “what is the price point?”.
And for years, it was never “regionalism”. The term implied that an artist was significant only in their area, not to the wider international art world. They had local collectors, showed in galleries with patchy programmes, and invariably attracted a certain patronising tone.
I once labelled a South Asian artist “regional” to avoid calling her Pakistani or Indian, because she and her work belong to both countries. Her gallerist, a well-meaning, well-versed chap, emailed me in a panic asking me to delete it. "She is not regional!" he wrote. "She is well known!"
But regionalism is having its moment. As the art world expands beyond its traditional centres of power, the most interesting exhibitions and fairs to watch have become those that traffic in the meeting points between the local and the international. Biennials, such as that in Sharjah, have always navigated these waters.
In a fair field that was long dominated by the art world’s Coke and Pepsi — Art Basel and Frieze London and New York — smaller fairs are now displacing them on art-world itineraries. Think of it like the rise of independent coffee shops: Art Dubai, Abu Dhabi Art, Art SG in Singapore, the African art fair 1-54, Art Lagos and Frieze Seoul.
For Art Dubai, which runs until Sunday, this shift in regionalism emerges in a new context. Art Dubai began in 2007 and quickly cemented its place as a meeting point between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. It generally has a lower price point (there you go) than other fairs and was known as the place where one could see work from African, Middle Eastern and Asian galleries rather than the same rotating list of blue-chip western galleries.
It was, in the parlance of the art world, a meeting place for the “Global South” — a term that is itself on the road to being discredited. Seventeen years later, it remains so but the landscape around it has utterly changed. With the expansion in institutions and curated exhibitions, particularly in the Gulf, there are more places to show and challenge ideas around art. It can stay in the region and still be included in thought-provoking new contexts.
Take the sumptuous work of Fatiha Zemmouri, a Moroccan artist who is showing at Art Dubai with the Marrakech gallery Comptoir des Mines. Zemmouri moved to a farm outside Marrakech some years ago and uses the soil around her to form her artworks — graphic, painting-like works that recall the stylish waves of the late Moroccan artists Mohamed Melehi and Farid Belkahia, but rooted in the earth.
Zemmouri is not terribly well known outside the region, but features in one of its current major shows, the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah. There, in a work made with the young curator Soukaina Aboulaoula, Zemmouri imagined the sound of a prayer recitation as a wave form, visualising it on the canvas in curves formed of the earth. Minutely ridged curves contrast with organic cracks, in a meditation on beauty and mortality that springs from the biennial's spiritual thesis.
Now, it’s easy to make major claims about the demise of art-world centres. Fairs, biennials, galleries and exhibitions have been operating everywhere in the world for years. But this new regionalism means there is enough of an ecosystem — another beloved art-world term — to allow for institutional shows without having to first get the nod from European and American curators. One can stay regional and grow as an artist.
What I’m saying is: no more waiting for London to pick up the phone.
Art Dubai runs until Sunday at Madinat Jumeirah
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NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Honeymoonish
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Results
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.