Mariam Nihal

Saudi Gazette

Singapore Art Fair will make its debut this year in November showcasing young emerging artists from the ME.NA.SA (Middle East, North Africa, South & Southeast Asia) region. The fair will showcase a diverse selection of work from across 70 galleries including 20 solo exhibitions.



Saudi Gazette spoke to Pascal Odille, art director (ME.NA) region, Ramin Salsali, Collector and Founder of Salsali Private Museum (Dubai) and Laure D’Hauteville, art fair manager in an exclusive interview.



Sixty percent of the fair will be dedicated to ME.NA. SA region. The exhibit is a platform for cultural and artistic exchange with the aim of creating awareness and explores the artistic development of these regions through strategic curated programs.



Pascal explained there is a common history between ME.NA and SA.



With Singapore being the art hub of Southeast Asia, the fair aims at bringing ME.NA art and encourage exchanges between ME NA and Southeastern art.



He said the international art market began to focus on artists from the Middle East and North Africa from the first sales of Christie’s Dubai in 2006.  “This enthusiasm was accompanied by the opening of foundations or art centers in the region and the energy of galleries as well as the dynamism of many collectors, which gave real visibility on the international scene,” he added. According to Pascal, the past few years have seen an increasing interest in design. “We have been witnessing the opening of an important number of design galleries, and artistic manifestation related to design.”



Laure believes the fair will also foster a culture of collaboration among new collectors, galleries, art patrons, artists and academics with the aim of celebrating the regions’ rich diversity.



‘’It is believed that when the art market is mature enough, art fairs find their way to be present permanently. This not only allows collectors to go further with their unique collections, but also highlights the importance of the artistic scene in these markets. USA, Europe, China and Japan are only few examples of these places. The Singapore Art Fair aims to reinforce Singapore’s role as the newest cultural destination at the heart of Asia, and a meeting point for new collectors, galleries, art patrons, artists and cultural institutions to exchange ideas. It is also a city with excellent infrastructure and a regional trade hub that is home to a large proportion of high net worth individuals and arts connoisseurs from around the world,’’ Laure added.



Ramin believes the Singapore fair is similar to Dubai and it was long overdue to connect these two commercial hubs via a cultural bridge. Discussing the significance of provision, he believes lack of governmental support and education about cultural issues is a drawback. “I wish I could start the campaign, less shopping, more culture.”



Ramin said the world's perception of MENA's art has changed over the past few years very positively with more international collectors travelling to the region and collecting art from the Middle East.



“Contemporary art has a long tradition in the Middle East. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art was established over forty years ago. Tehran and Kuwait hosted international artists forty years ago.



Christo & Jean Claude had proposed the Project MASTABA to HH Sheikh Zayed over thirty five years ago!”



He said the reason behind art appreciation is growing demand. “However we observe a selective appreciation for the value or quality. Collectors are now better informed.’



Pascal agreed that since 2006 there has been an increased interest in Middle Eastern art by the international market, which allows placement of Arab artists on the worldwide map. ‘”Concerning design and in particular the Lebanese design, its strength comes from the quality of its artisans. Its great strength is that it’s able to rely on the expertise of the traditional Lebanese craftsmen. The concept of mass production is excluded given the lack of local industrial factories, something that I find to be interesting and valuable.



Lebanese designers are extremely inventive. The success of those already known, such as Karen Chekerdjian, Nada Debs, Wyssem Nochi or Bokja designers has opened the door to a whole new promising generation like Maria Halios, Cyrille Najjar or Carlo Massoud.



In the Middle East, patrons and collectors play the major role in developing art and design,” Pascal added.



He said the relative unfamiliarity of some of the region’s collectors with specific mechanisms of the art market and a lack of information regarding the artists (for example, absence of catalogues raisonnés and monographs) are features that can slow the evolution of the market.  

“Compared to the Western market, which remains in my opinion a very speculative one, I find the Middle Eastern market relatively healthy. However, much remains to be done. We need serious academic research as well as true reflection on the artistic work of the region to reassess it to its fair value.



And of course, I believe that the local museums, galleries etc. need further development to allow for more relevant exchanges with the Western institution,’’ he added.



Discussing the main events that will take place during the fair, Laure said a broad cultural program based on exchanges between the ME.NA.SA countries will be held along with interactive and multimedia showcases that will complement the exhibitions.



Another highlight of the four-day event will be live performances where ViJing will work with urban artists from ME.NA.SA countries. “This to broaden the public’s perspective beyond what is usually featured in galleries and auctions and deepen their knowledge about the region’s art. We also have thematic ME.NA platforms coordinated by renowned experts such as Catherine David, Deputy Director of the Georges Pompidou Museum in Paris (France).  For the first ever Lebanon Pavilion, we have given Janine Maamari carte blanche. She is a collector and curator of mainly Lebanese contemporary and modern art, and is therefore an excellent choice as she can identify and showcase the best of the creative and complex Lebanese art scene. Singapore Art Fair visitors will be able to experience a vision of contemporary Lebanese creations through her unique perspective,’’ she added.



Pascal described contemporary art fair as a meeting point chosen for participants to gather around a common topic to defend. “This ends up creating strong links and connections between all of them!” He said that the Beirut and Singapore art fair were created to implement platforms for exchanges between these three large areas.



“We are sure that the pavilions of Catherine David (ME.NA pavilion) and Janine Maarmari (Lebanese pavilion) will have a huge success. The participating galleries will present the best of the ME NA SA artists.”



“It starts with the silk road: Archaeological excavations brought by the Russians in the early twentieth century in Eastern Turkestan led to the discovery of Christian worship objects brought by Syrian merchants dating from the 8th century AD. The first exchanges to take place between the traders where through artworks, which already gives us a common past of these regions. Closer to our time, modern history and more particularly that of decolonization, seems to affect all of ME.NA.SA, the latter extending in a similar period from the early 60s to mid 70s,” Pascal Odille



“The organic growth of the contemporary art and design in the Middle East started in Iran about twenty years ago, as a silent movement to express another way of contemplation of life. It has attracted many artists as well as local and later international collectors. As a result of this initial movement, a wave of the artistic activities in all disciplines in various countries of Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Kuwait started,” Ramin Salsali