2021

Survival of the Fittest

Vogue Arabia Men


The Middle Eastern art scene has adapted to the new reality through an innovative hybrid digital and physical model – yet many are questioning its efficiency






It has been one year since the coronavirus rocked the world to its core, resulting in a domino effect of postponements, cancellations, restrictions, sickness, and death. As the pandemic carries on, albeit with an end in sight as vaccines around the world are administered at rapid speed, the world continues to mourn the loss not only of human life but also of life as it once was. The global art market, which carried sales worth US $64.1 billion in 2019, according to the 2020 Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, has been growing steadily in recent years – until the pandemic forced fairs to cancel, galleries and exhibitions to close, and collectors to be more careful with their spending, with some deciding to not spend at all.

According to another report from Art Basel and UBS, which surveyed 795 galleries and 360 collectors from the US, UK, and Hong Kong, the pandemic cut gallery sales by 36%, compared to the first six months of 2019. Art market sales last year seem to have fallen by at least a third across the industry, reported the Financial Times in the UK. The key to understanding how the market will fare in 2021 seems to be in knowing whether inperson art fairs, which account for an average 45% of gallery sales, will return. Some, like Art Dubai, are sticking to its plans and maintaining its usual slot, running from March 29 to April 3 this year.

Amid a rocky landscape of lockdowns and border closings, sales transactions, collaborations, gallery and fair openings now take place in the virtual world – a stark contrast from the art world’s high-impact travel schedule of biennials, art fairs, exhibitions, and performances. In the face of economic hardship, the Middle Eastern art community instinctively knew it needed to band together. Established in 2008 in Dubai’s industrial Al Quoz area by Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, Alserkal Avenue is the Middle East’s premiere creative hub, where the majority of the UAE’s contemporary art galleries are based. Its Pay It Forward Program supported its community with lease subsidies in return for help to front line workers and others in need. “Alserkal has always been dedicated to developing sustainable models for homegrown initiatives and to supporting narratives and research emerging from the Global South,” says Alserkal Avenue director Vilma Jurkute. “We continue to take a forward-thinking stance in remapping the digital and physical commons, to encourage dialogue and public forum.” Last March, Alserkal launched Alserkal. Online, a site for editorial perspectives from a multidisciplinary range of voices. “It is a collective attempt to debate and reimagine the digital realm by creating a platform to support creative expression across a wide spectrum,” explains Jurkute.



“The feedback we receive from collectors is that they always prefer to see art in person” 



With boundaries blurred across all areas of the art market for some time now, gallerists, artists, and art professionals are in a continual hustle to survive. “As a commercial gallery, we rely on sales of artworks for our income, as do the artists,” says William Lawrie, co-founder of Lawrie Shabibi, a gallery based in London and Dubai. “That is how they and we make our living. So apart from encouragement and engagement in calls and discussions, this is where the buck stops. We had to adapt both virtually and physically. We stepped up our online efforts, with digital content on Instagram and on the website, and informal newsletters to highlight artists’ work and tell narratives in a more regular and methodical way. For real-life shows, we have had to be flexible and operate within the changing restrictions.”

Kourosh Nouri, co-founder of Carbon 12, a gallery based in Alserkal Avenue, says its participation in online art fairs has been difficult for sales. “The feedback we receive from collectors is that they always prefer to see art in person,” he acknowledges. Even so, Carbon 12 is adapting to the times. “We are currently launching a series of online solo exhibitions and are introducing a small amount of new works, with a focus on artworks priced under €5 000,” he adds. Nouri emphasizes, however, that true pleasure from a work of art must be had in-person and not via screens. “We are certain that once the time comes that we are no longer a health risk to one another, and galleries and collectors are confident to come together again, it will be a moment of joy for all.”