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Dubai Art Scene coming back

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With Dubai’s economic revival, the Art Scene in the sheikhdom is witnessing renewed spirit but the penchant for buying expensive paintings and sculptures from pre-crisis 2007 years will not occur too soon, experts said.

The politically stable and globally well-connected Emirate of Dubai, regarded by many a peaceful bedrock in the ever instable Middle East, has benefited from the turmoil in some Arab countries and so did the Art Scene in the sheikhdom.

Michael Jeha, Managing Director and Head of Sales Middle East of renowned English auction house Christie’s, said that Y 2012 clearly marked the turnaround.

“It has been a fantastic year so far for Christie’s …” Mr. Jeha said, adding “Middle Eastern buyers at Christie’s auction accounted in Y 2011 for a new record share of 8% of our global turnover, and thanks to our regular auctions in Dubai, we are confident to top this figure in Y 2012.”

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At Christie’s last auction on 23 October in the ballroom of Dubai’s iconic Emirates Towers hotel, Christie’s sold contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art for US$3.64-M. “New European and U.S. sanctions against Iran have not affected our sales of Iranian art, which enjoys huge popularity worldwide, but we keep a close eye on who offers what for our auctions,” said Mr. Jeha.

The trend may continue, if forecasts done by Citigroup NYSE:C come to pass.

Farouk Soussa, the US bank’s chief economist for the Middle East region, said Thursday in his monthly assessment that “Dubai’s recovery from the global economic downturn goes from strength to strength. Over the past couple of years, economic data have pointed to robust growth in the core economy: transport, tourism, logistics and trade.” For Y 2012, Mr. Soussa expects the Dubai real GDP to grow by 5.1%, for Y 2013 he expects 5.8%.

As purchasing power returns, it translates in the Gulf Arab Sheikhdom into a greater desire among high net worth individuals, people with wealth above a million dollars to diversify their capital by buying art.