#art-basel-qatar

#art-basel-qatar

The inaugural edition of a new Art Basel fair opened in natural gas-rich Qatar in February with a novel artist-curated format consisting of 87 dealers presenting focused, biennial-style displays by individual artists. The ruling Al Thani family, worth $200bn, toured the fair before it opened and reserved numerous works, leaving dealers to spend the next few days wondering if and when those reserves would convert into sales.

For more than two decades, Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has spearheaded the development of Qatar's cultural institutions, leading them to world renown. Can her vision-and budget-do the same for the region's art market? This question lies to central to the inaugural Art Basel Qatar, which opened yesterday (3 February) to VIPs.

After a decade of big spending, Saudi Arabia is scaling back some massive Vision 2030 "gigaprojects" due to falling oil prices and budget constraints. What does this mean for the nation's big cultural projects and investments? Plus, all eyes are on the Gulf this week as the first edition of Art Basel Qatar gets underway. Plus, the NFT platform Nifty will shut down this month.

Qatar Museums was founded in 2005 by Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the daughter of the former emir of the country. As Qataris like to point out, Doha's engagement with international contemporary art began before that of the UAE and well before that of Saudi Arabia; its I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art opened in 2008 and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in 2010, while museums elsewhere were still in the planning stages.