Dubai: Art and More at the Global Art Forum

If you thought Dubai was all about gold souks, shopping malls and basking on Jumeirah Beach, head to this fascinating, glamorous city in March to be surprised at the roaring art scene in the city led by the Global Art Forum. Organised by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the Global Art Forum is in its 7^th year now and is critically acclaimed as a think tank of artists, musicians, curators, writers and thinkers who debate threadbare issues concerning culture and art, especially in the Middle East and Asia.

The forum has a new theme every year and this year it will focus on the concept of Definitionism. The event is titled “It Means This” and will see six days of intense discussions and debates on words, clichés and terms that populate mainstream discussions on arts but have lost their true meaning. The forum will attempt to investigate words like Heritage, Biography, Academese and Freezone, and have incisive talks on what they really mean because it may have become commonplace in artsy circles to use these words with flourish but that is often for dramatic effect rather than for delivering a real thought.

More than talking

The Global Art Forum is a part of Art Dubai held each year at Madinat Jumeirah and at the forum, besides invigorating live discussions like these you can look forward to a sculpture park, curated film screenings as well as commissioned projects in various media like a series of “advert breaks” by promising new artists Lantian Xie and Abdulla Al Mutairi.

If you are in Dubai during the festival dates of March 20-23, you would have the pleasure of hearing speakers like Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla – a poet and author, Michael Stipe – former lead singer of the very popular band R.E.M and writers like Elif Batuman and Maryam Monalisa Gharavi. This participation by authors, performers and social commentators is what makes the Global Art Forum so important and meaningful for our times. This is a must–do event for those who believe art can bring about real change in people’s lives and being here is sure to give you enduring takeaways.

Some other speakers at the forum this year that are sure to influence you include writer and artist Douglas Coupland, curator Lara Khaldi and Kaelen Wilson-Goldie; a Beirut based critic. Take some time out from discussions and live events at the Global Art Forum to explore some of the world’s best art galleries that will be displaying at Dubai during the forum as part of the main Art Dubai Fair. Art Dubai will host galleries like Athr Gallery from Jeddah, Almine Rech Gallery (Paris/Brussels), Tanja Wagner (Berlin) and Experimenter from our very own Kolkata. Participating galleries will showcase works by more than 500 artists like Abdul Qader Al Rais, Etel Adnan, Wim Delvoye, Yayoi Kusama, Otbong Nkanga and Taryn Simon. 

Going to the Global Art Forum in Dubai will be a new way of seeing a city that suffers from a clichéd impression of being glitzy, ostentatious and reveling in hubris. Be in Dubai during this unique celebration of art and its impact on people and be rewarded with a memorable experience. We’d love to know more about it so go forth and be our eyes and ears!