Art SPECIAL REPORT
"Not everything can be accelerated, and I believe culture is one of these things."
Talking art
Why Dubai? Shumon Basar, Director of Art Dubai’s Global Art Forum, discusses Dubai’s cultural evolution. by Kurt Parry
What makes Dubai such a unique cultural hub? It’s a cliche, but doesn’t stop it from being true: Dubai is a kind of common ground or valve where the wider region is able to present itself visibly and with a certain degree of equanimity with one another. Another cliche: this allows for conversations between different people and regions that wouldn’t necessarily be able to connect otherwise. It’s the same reasons that turned it into a mercantile hub for over a century now: geographic location and willingness to, in many ways, be a “state of exception.” Its mixed culture means it has a varied audience that 62 GC March / April 2012
demands different things. But I’d also argue that culture came into Dubai’s nation-building plans relatively late, but it seems to be thriving now. Has Dubai matured in terms of contemporary art appreciation? I think you’ll find that even in places like London and New York, contemporary art is relatively elitist, and where it isn’t, it has taken arguably decades for that to seep into the mainstream culture. I would say that Dubai is beginning to offer more and more interesting venues and possibilities for art appreciation - maturity on the other hand comes with time. Not everything can be accelerated, and I believe culture is one of these things.
Why is that? One speculative guess is the crash. Before the crash, Dubai was living in some fantasy version of the future and all that mattered was the biggest, the brashest, and the most expensive. Hopefully in the current climate, other criteria have become important in judging what makes a successful and interesting city. How has the perception of art changed in the region? There is a general understanding of the unique role art can play in presenting and comprehending the world as it was, as it is, as it might be. This is the art I am interested in: how my understanding of things can be expanded in unusual and innovative ways. Basar studied architecture at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association. He is co-director of curatorial/design group Newbetter, an editor at fashion/ culture quarterly Tank and co-founder of sexymachinery.