Art Basel, which operates four fairs wordwild, said today that it would partner with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+ to launch a fair in Doha next February, marking the first major art fair in the Middle East. The news of this fair comes about a month before Art Basel’s Swiss fair will open its doors.
“Growing the global art market, supporting artists and galleries and developing new collecting audiences is core to Art Basel’s mission,” Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz said in a statement, noting the exponential growth of the region’s art scene. “Qatar’s depth of collections, history of building great cultural institutions and unique role as an incubator and supporter of talent position the new Art Basel Qatar for success on the world stage.”
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The inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar will aim to provide “an unparalleled platform to showcase leading galleries and artistic talent from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and further afield,” according to a release.
According to a spokesperson, the first few editions will feature “a tightly curated selection of approximately 50 galleries.” That figure is significantly smaller than Art Basel’s other fairs, which range on the low end from around 195 (Paris) to 291 (Basel), per the most recently announced exhibitor lists. “This approach is designed to respond to today’s market while laying the foundation for future growth,” the spokesperson added.
The fair will be staged at M7, a creative hub in the Doha Design District that also is the venue for an artist residency. A director overseeing the fair, who will report to Art Basel’s director of shows and exhibition platforms Vincenzo de Bellis, is to be announced in the coming months, as are the details for the application period and full exhibitor list.
The launch of the fair is part of the country’s larger National Vision 2030 initiative, which includes a strong cultural component. Among the most-high profile of the projects falling under this umbrella is the creation of a permanent national pavilion for the country in the Giardini for the Venice Biennale. In addition to its existing five national museums, Qatar Museums has plans for three additional museums to open by 2030, including the Art Mill Museum and the Lusail Museum.
“As part of His Highness the Amir’s National Vision 2030, Qatar has been transforming itself into a knowledge-based economy, with culture and the creative industries helping to lead the way,” Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the chairperson of Qatar Museums, said in a statement. “As Qatar Museums marks its twentieth anniversary, we are pleased to welcome the Art Basel organisation as our partner to further elevate Qatar’s initiatives to support the creative industries of our region, offering exceptional new artistic experiences and opportunities to our talent.”
QSI was a driving force in bringing the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. As part of the sports festivities that year, the Qatar Museums organized a slate of 40 new and commissioned public art works installed throughout Doha, including pieces by Yayoi Kusama, Rashid Johnson, Damien Hirst, Katharina Fritsch, Simone Fattal, Richard Serra, and KAWS.
“QSI is very proud and excited to play a role in bringing the world-renowned Art Basel fair to Qatar and our region as part of the legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi said in a statement. “As that event demonstrated so unforgettably, sports and culture are closely linked in their capacity to unite people and bring the world together, which is at the heart of QSI’s mission. We are delighted to work with QC+ and to welcome Art Basel to Qatar—a partnership that will inspire the region and bring further investment to a great cultural organisation.”
In his statement, Horowitz added, “We are compelled by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s singular vision for the arts ecosystem in Qatar, and we share a commitment to supporting artists in realising their highest potential. We are equally energised by the opportunities unlocked by our collaboration with QSI and QC+ to create new touchpoints for the broadest possible audiences.”
At the moment, the region’s main fair is Art Dubai, held each April. Of the 120 galleries that participated this year, only a few were blue-chip enterprises based outside the region, including Bortolami, Perrotin, Almine Rech, and Waddington Custot. As Pablo del Val, the fair’s artistic director, told ARTnews, “This is not a market for trophies. It’s not about fighting to win the waiting list.”
Art Basel Qatar touching down next year will almost certainly change that dynamic.
The Qatar fair will be Art Basel’s fifth fair internationally. Founded in 1960, Art Basel has run its marquee fair in Basel, Switzerland, for the past 65 years. Its international expansion began in the new millennium, with the launch of Art Basel Miami Beach in 2002. (The fair was delayed a year by 9/11.)
About a decade later, the fair began looking toward East Asia, acquiring a 60-percent stake in the Art HK fair in 2011. By the fair’s 2013 edition, Art Basel had acquired it outright, rebranding it as Art Basel Hong Kong. The most recent addition to its portfolio came in early 2022, when news broke that Art Basel had successfully bid on the October dates of the Grand Palais that hometown fair FIAC had held for years. It launched later that year.
In a statement, Andrea Zappia, Chairman and Group CEO at MCH Group, Art Basel’s parent company, said, “We are committed to Art Basel’s growth and following the launch of Art Basel Paris in 2022 we are ready to add a fifth fair to our exclusive and successful portfolio. MCH Group, owner of Art Basel, is committed to contributing unique resources and capabilities to this partnership to ensure its long-term success.”