The cryptocurrency market and its associated art business are one sector that has not recently experienced growth. Last year’s Art Dubai saw the launch of its new digital section: “an annual 360-degree snapshot of the digital art landscape, building bridges between the art and technology worlds, and exploring how artists are utilising new, immersive technologies to collapse the boundaries of the traditional art world”, a statement says. Despite the protracted crypto winter, Clara Che Wei Peh, a Singapore-based arts journalist, has expanded Art Dubai’s digital component from 17 galleries to 22 this year.
Art Dubai expands in size and scope again amid a real estate growth and an influx of Russian wealth
Dubai experienced an economic issue during the most recent global slump, forcing its sister emirate Abu Dhabi to provide a $20 billion bailout. But even as the rest of the world once more teeters on the verge of a recession, Dubai’s fiscal situation appears to be much improved. According to the UAE Central Bank, the GDP of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grew by 7.6% last year, the most in 11 years. As the demand for real estate has soared and other sectors, like leisure and culture, are experiencing reductions in inflation this year, construction sites for real estate projects that have been abandoned for a while have shuddered back to life.
In light of this, Art Dubai (1–5 March) launches its largest iteration to date and marks the first time since the pandemic that it is back in full form. This year, more than 130 exhibitors will participate in the show, which focuses on art from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Important African and South Asian dealers will also display more frequently, and the Art Dubai Digital area will be bigger than ever. Pablo del Val, the creative head of Art Dubai, claims that Dubai is quickly becoming a major center for finance and technology. The metropolis is expanding.