Mariam Nihal

Saudi Gazette

 

Kashya Hildebrand spent 19 years working on Wall Street before becoming an art dealer in Geneva. During Abu Dhabi Art, we caught up with gallery owner and founder exclusively for Saudi Gazette.



The gallery represents Middle Eastern artists including Khalid Al Banna (Emirati), Khaled Al Saai (Syria), Simeen Farhat (Pakistan),Sama Mara (Jordanian), Marwan Sahmarani (Lebanon) Ahmed Moustafa (Egyptian), Abdallah Akar (Tunesian) and  Aghighi Bakshayeshi (Iran).



“The vision of the gallery is to maintain an ethnically diverse cross section of artists that reflect the globalized world we live in. The subjective experience of each artist, their socio-political perspectives and how they mine their personal landscapes can be very revealing and illuminating, creating a wonderful dialogue between East and West,” Hildebrand.



She launched her gallery in 2001 which moved from New York, Geneva, Zurich and now London. “Our geographical position is based on the fact that I currently live in London.”



Born in Pakistan, educated in the States and now living in Europe Hildebrand comes from mixed cultures.



“Having participated in art fairs in Abu Dhabi and Art Dubai for the past 8 years I have witnessed the burgeoning art scene, dedication to culture and the plethora of artists that now live in the Middle East.



Our gallery platform has allowed us to develop relationships with many wonderful artists from this area and we continue to foster these relationships and develop this market.”



She said Abu Dhabi Art is essential to the gallery and the region as it creates a platform to introduce emerging Emirati artists, including mid career Middle Eastern and international artists.



“Through fostering relationships over the last eight years it has allowed us to develop relationships with important collectors and institutions. It has been interesting to witness the growth of this fair, particularly with the advent of Saadiyat Island’s museums on the horizon.”



Speaking about the changing art scene in the Middle East, Hildebrand said: “It has been an extraordinary development to say the least.



The combination of artists moving to the region, the burgeoning gallery scene, the dedication of the government and private individuals to developing a cultural sector and the commitment of auction houses and collectors to support this movement  have created a virtuous cycle creating a solid foundation for the future.



This year in Hildebrand gallery presented a series of five large-scale tapestries by Egyptian contemporary calligrapher Ahmed Moustafa. 



The tapestries represent the culmination of his scholarly and artistic career to date. Moustafa will be launching a new two-volume book, The Cosmic Script, which took eight years in the making and details the history of the Islamic script and calligraphy.  



She said the main of her gallery is to find artists that are creative, strong in conception, have a refined aesthetic and passionate about their mission. 



“We prefer not to have a regional focus, recognizing that most artists in our stable pride themselves on being part of a diversified international gallery program. We have more than 22 nationalities represented in our gallery program and we are very proud of this.”