The staging of cultural diversity in Dubai: the case of Dubai Art Fair

ABSTRACT

This paper will argue that the pursuit of the UAE’s nation-state-building project, the implementation of neoliberal urban policies, and increasing security concerns together have led to the Dubai authorities projecting a selective, discretionary representation of diversity. Based on ethnographic accounts of the Dubai Art Fair in the city’s new urban spaces, the article aims to offer insights into the politics of cultural diversity in Dubai today.

The art fair is celebrated as a manifestation of Dubai’s cultural diversity and openness to the world. This paper contends that the promotion of diversity through spaces of global cultural practice, such as the fair, must be understood through a joint analysis of both state-building and global processes. Bringing into play the notion of ‘national globalism’, the article elaborates on the inherent logic underpinning the political representation of cultural diversity in the UAE and the locations that are chosen for this purpose.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural diversity
• representation
• migration policies
• Dubai
• art fair

Acknowledgments

I thank the editors of this issue for their thorough engagement with the submission of my article. I also specially thank my friend Nigel Wilkinson for his support and assistance.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. See for instance the documentary ‘Pearls of the Persian Gulf: Dubai 1975’ commissioned and directed by Iranian filmmaker Kamran Shirdel, just four years after the creation of the UAE, in which he illustrates the staggering pace of Dubai’s modernising process, showcasing the diversity of its population(Shirdel 1975). By focusing on the participation and contribution of migrants from neighbouring countries (Iran, Pakistan, and India, among others), the film fails to testify to some of the major inequalities and hierarchical structures that are as topical today as they were fifty years ago.

2. In January 2021, the UAE government approved amendments to the „Executive Regulation of the Citizenship and Passport Law“ allowing specific categories of foreigners, such as investors, doctors, specialists, inventors, scientists, intellectuals, and people with creative talents, to apply for UAE citizenship. However, the details of this new rule are not yet clear.

3. https://uaecabinet.ae/en/national-agenda

4. Omar Saif Ghobash is also the author of a polemical book, Letters to a Young Muslim (2017) which led him to appear in some of the most internationally popular variety shows such as The Daily Show by Trevor Noah in the US.

5. The last edition of Art Dubai in march 2021 took place again at DIFC due to the pandemic conditions.

6. For the past decade, the Art Dubai Group has played a key role in the Emirates creating new destinations for the arts and design such as annual art and design fairs and festivals – Art Dubai, Downtown Design, Art Week and Dubai Design Week.

7. Dubai Culture https://dubaiculture.gov.ae/en/Pages/default.aspx

8. www.gulftoday.ae/en/news/2019/03/21/mohammed-bin-rashid-visits-art-dubai

9. See the official website for political statements about ‘The year of Tolerance’. https://www.theyearoftolerance.ae/en/

10. https://www.artdubai.ae/hipa/

11. See his highness website: https://hamdan.ae/en-us/news/details?nid=3351

12. 2011: Introductory year, 2012: Indonesia, 2013: West Africa, 2014: Central Asia and Caucasus, 2015: Latin America, 2016: Philippines, See https://www.artdubai.ae/marker/

13. This was, for example, the case at the 2012 fair, with works by Franco-Iranian artist Ghazel, whose ‘Mismapping’ series designated the region as the ‘Persian Gulf’ (i.e. not the ‘Arabian Gulf’). Another artist’s photo-realist painting depicted the infamous image of the ‘Blue Bra Girl’, the abaya-clad female protestor beaten unconscious by Egyptian soldiers in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Another censored painting showed a woman holding men’s underwear with ‘Irhal’ (Arabic for ‘leave’) – a common chant of protestors – written on them in Arabic.

14. To watch this this panel online: https://www.artdubai.ae/global-art-forum-11/