Each year, Art Dubai offers a series of diverse talks that brings together artists, architects, academics, curators, technologists, and thinkers who are shaping the future of the creative industries and allows them to share insights and exchange ideas on emerging trends in the art world. Art Dubai 2024 includes more than 50 sessions (conferences and talks) devoted to a full range of themes.
29 February — 1 March
This time, the Global Art Forum, a major arts conference, is organised by commissioner Shumon Basar and curator Nadine El-Khoury. Titled Whether or Not, it explored the relationship between the consequences of the climate crisis (extreme weather, that is) and extreme change. Among the speakers contributing to the conference were Dr Stephanie Rosenthal (Director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project), Samir Bantal (Director AMO at Office of Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam), Gabriel Alonso (a Madrid-based artist and researcher), Maya El Khalil (an independent curator from Oxford), and others.
29 February — 3 March
Presented in collaboration with Dubai Collection, Art Dubai Modern Talks 2024 focus on the impact of Soviet education and exhibitions on Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African artists. Each discussion session highlights the personal stories of the artists featured in the Art Dubai Modern section. They also provide historical context to the particular grouping of artists in the section. The participants of the Talks include Dr Maria Mileeva (Lecturer, The Courtauld Institute of Art and Museum in London, UK), Bilal Akkouche (Assistant Curator of International Art at Tate Modern in London), Dr Masha Kirasirova (Assistant Professor of History at NYU Abu Dhabi), Daudi Karungi (Director and Founder of Afriart Gallery in Kampala), and many others.
29 February — 2 March
Art Dubai Collector Talks, which are also presented in partnership with Dubai Collection, feature different individual and institutional collectors, each shedding light on the unique forces, strategies, and passions that shape the global arts and culture. Those taking part in the discussion sessions include Nadia Samdani MBE (Co-founder and President of Samdani Art Foundation), Hiba Safieddine Nesr (Founder of NESR ART Foundation), Nisreen Bajis (Founder of the Abu Dhabi concept cafe Mysk), collector Richard Haykel, etc.
29 February — 2 March
Built on the platform created by the Art Dubai Digital section, Digital Summit, which features public talks, lectures, and breakout sessions, will gather international and local industry leaders to discuss the digital art ecosystem and Dubai’s place within it. The participants are artist Krista Kim, Celine Wong Katzman (Co-Director at the School for Poetic Computation), Dr Zinka Bejtic (Head of the Department of Art & Design at American University Sharjah), artist and technologist Fabin Rasheed, Faisal Zaidi (Co-Founder of Crypto Oasis), among many others.
Besides, the Art Dubai Talks 2024 include Conversations with Artists (in-person conversations which offer one to delve into the stories and achievements of some of the prominent as well as new artists from the Global South) and The Art Business Conference dedicated to the discussion of main issues in today’s art market.
To learn more about Art Dubai Talks 2024, please visit Art Dubai’s official website.
