- $1 billion dollars’ worth of art at Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week
Global auction house Sotheby’s will stage its inaugural Collectors’ Week in Abu Dhabi, featuring auctions, private sale opportunities, exhibitions and a special program of talks and masterclasses co-hosted by special guests. Staged in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, the week will bring together, in exhibits or on sale, over $1 billion of fine art and luxury items, marking a major milestone for Sotheby’s and Abu Dhabi’s luxury retail landscape.
“Abu Dhabi’s dynamic economy and bold vision for its future is a natural fit for an innovative, forward-thinking business like Sotheby’s, in addition to sharing a passion for impossibly rare collectibles,” Katia Nounou Boueiz, head of Sotheby’s UAE and deputy chairwoman of Sotheby’s Middle, East told Al-Monitor.
Among the $150 million in luxury offerings to be presented across five auctions on Dec. 5 are standout items, many of which have never appeared at auction before. Among the highlights is what was likely Gustav Klimt’s final portrait, which sold for $108 million in 2003, becoming, at the time, the most valuable work ever sold at auction in Europe; Banksy‘s iconic shredded “Girl Without Balloon,” which made headlines around the world; one of the finest Rembrandt drawings to ever appear at auction; four rare high-performance bicycles, including Tadej Pogacar‘s Tour de France-winning Colnago, and a bike ridden by Eddy Merckx, who is widely accepted as being the greatest rider in the history of the sport, and another Colnago ridden by Joao Almeida. There will also be the first complete set of Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000 ever offered at auction.
“Buyers across the UAE have been engaging with both our art and luxury categories for a few years now and in increasingly large numbers. Many enter the market early in their collecting journeys — 38% of new UAE buyers are under 40 — and luxury often serves as an accessible and compelling entry point for them and from which art collecting can derive. The luxury market in particular has room to grow in Abu Dhabi and across the region, as wearing luxury — one of the greatest pleasures of collecting items such as fine watches and jewelry — is safe and commonplace in the region,” said Boueiz.
Date: Dec. 2-5
Location: St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
Find more information here.
- Dom Art Projects opens in Dubai
Marking the latest private art institution in Dubai, Dom Art Projects will open its doors this week with a series of exhibitions, live performances and artist talks. The contemporary art space serves as “home,” or “dom” in Russian, for those who love art and culture.
Founded by Alisa Bagdonaite and Anna Pumpyanskaya, Dom Art Projects will showcase the works of emerging and mid-career artists through exhibitions as part of year-round programing, including artist-led workshops, and talks across its exhibition space and artist residency studios. There is also an art and culture bookshop.
Date: Nov. 27-29
Location: Al Khayat Avenue, Al Quoz, Dubai
Find more information here.
- Hujra — حُجرة by Miramar Al Nayyar
This evocative solo presentation by Iraqi artist Miramar Al Nayyar, curated by Abeer Seikaly, marks Dubai-based Tabari Artspace’s first exhibition in Alserkal Avenue. The ethereal works on show explore how light can become matter and the energetic flow can transmute onto the canvas. The exhibition stages a dialogue between Nayyar’s process and Seikaly’s curatorial approach, reflecting a parallel inquiry into how inner states of consciousness can become material forms on the body and in space. The show offers a meditative look at states of consciousness and how they can be interpreted through art.
Date: Until Dec. 1
Location: Alserkal Avenue, Warehouse 81
Find more information here.
4. Book of the week: ‘The Touch of Light’
Emirati novelist Nadia Najar was shortlisted this year for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for her book “The Touch of Light.” The book’s main character, Noura, is blind and uses an electronic application to explain the content of photographs. The novel charts the personal story of Noura’s family members, often via her use of the device to view family photographs, within the context of the history of the Arabian Gulf before the discovery of oil in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
An installation at the newly opened Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi reflecting life during the Cenozoic period. Courtesy of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi
Evidence from geological and fossil records confirms that the Arabian Peninsula had a verdant, lush landscape during multiple humid phases throughout the Cenozoic period, dating back seven to eight million years ago. This particular period is reflected in displays at the newly opened Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi.
- The history of the United Arab Emirates can be traced back to 6,000 BCE.
- Islamic civilization flourished in the Gulf region during the Umayyad Caliphate, from 661CE to 750 CE.
- At its peak during the 20th century, the pearling industry was a major economic driver for the Trucial States (prior to becoming the UAE), contributing around 95% of its income during the 1900s and employing around 80,000 men in the Gulf, with 22,000 from the Trucial States alone.
