The Middle East’s largest annual contemporary art fair opened in Dubai on Friday against the backdrop of the Iran war, drawing fewer galleries and a more local crowd than usual.
This year, in its 20th edition, Art Dubai opened a month late and in a scaled-down format after the regional conflict forced the organisers to revise their plans.
“When the conflict broke out, we were only a few weeks out from the fair, and so we had to make a decision as to whether to go ahead” with the three-day event, its executive director Benedetta Ghione said.
“For us, the message is about resilience,” she added.
The organisers, who normally sell around 10,000 tickets, made admission free to attract visitors, and have so far received 16,000 registration requests on their website.
