Art Dubai: Art patronage key to enhancing the regional community

At the same time, an increasing number of corporations, from luxury goods manufacturers to finance houses, are aligning themselves with art events to enhance their community involvement and to reach key client demographics.

With a recent report by the Financial Times that arts sponsorship in the United Kingdom reached just under £600m in the last 10 years - almost a third of which is from corporations - organisations such as Art Dubai are in discussions with a range of potential patrons - from property developers wanting to create cultural spaces within their iconic projects - to Gulf-based banks.

Taking the lead in art sponsorship is Abraaj Capital, with its $1m endowment of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize. The Art Dubai 2009 program will feature the inaugural exhibition of the prize, which is the world's most generous contemporary art award. The prize is aimed at providing opportunities for artists from across the MENASA region and is an initiative by Abraaj Capital to participate in the further development of the regional arts community.

Art Dubai, which began in Dubai in March 2007 as the DIFC Gulf Art Fair, has witnessed a double-digit growth in the level of interest from potential corporate brand partners, following its collaboration with Abraaj Capital, a Dubai-based private equity group, and support from such brands as Credit Suisse and Van Cleef & Arpels.

"Not only are corporations in the Middle East increasingly investing in art to build their own collections, but companies from the luxury goods, property development, hospitality, and other industries are following the lead of the financial services sector and aligning their brands with key regional and international art events to reach specific audiences and support the organic growth of the arts community," said Benedict Floyd, co-founder and partner in Art Dubai.

According to Floyd, art offers many advantages to corporate patrons ranging from the aesthetic value to furthering the Middle East's development as a cultural hub.

"Although Art Dubai is a focal point to understanding the seriousness of the region's cultural ambitions, it also enables companies to contribute substantially to the development of the region's arts community, while reaching collectors and other audiences through integrated partnerships,"

said Floyd.

The third edition of Art Dubai will take place at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai from 18-21 March, 2009. Cultural tourism is a key element of Art Dubai's mission, as the fair seeks to attract more than 5000 - 6000 visitors from overseas, doubling the number of overseas visitors who came in 2008.