Dhs60m worth of paintings sold at Artparis-AbuDhabi

The three day event, which took place from November 27-29 at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. Artparis-AbuDhabi was organised in partnership with Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach) and Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC).

Commenting on the success of Artparis-AbuDhabi, the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei expressed his extreme happiness of the overwhelming success the exhibition had seen, as it had created an environment full of cultural activities and presented excellent Arabic and international artistic experiments that were greatly appreciated by the local cultural scene.

Last week, Artparis-AbuDhabi opened its doors to over 9000 guests at the Emirates Palace and ushered in a wave of enthusiastic art lovers from across the world. Local artists mingled with international gallery owners as the Emirates Palace played host to the largest international art fair to ever take place in the Middle East. The exhibition featured over $400m worth of art pieces drawn from 700 artists around the world.

"We are delighted with the number of people that have attended Artparis-AbuDhabi, from the UAE, the Middle East and the world. From the outset, we had hoped it would be more than just the sales of expensive paintings and rather, an international dialogue between countries and cultures about art. This event has exceeded all our expectations," said Caroline Clough-Lacoste, the fair Director.

With 46 participating galleries, visitors were spoilt for choice with the variety of paintings on display. The Middle East was clearly visible with galleries from the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Bahrain, Syria, Oman, Iran and Tunisia. Modern and contemporary Arab art from the United Arab Emirates was showcased and Occidental artworks that adorned the walls of galleries from Europe.

In conjunction with the art fair, the Paris-Sorbonne-Abu Dhabi organised a conference with Serge Lemoine, Director of the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. The course discussed the history of modern and contemporary art, with a focus on the art movements after the mid-20th century. The course received an enthusiastic response from the art community in the Middle East and was attended by students and art lovers.

Under the sponsorship of Sorouh company, the official sponsor of the exhibition, The "Future vision of Abu Dhabi" competition has been organized in the cultural complex which aimed at younger generation. 40 artists have participated and Sorouh presented 6 awards to the winners.