During 2003-08, the international financial world flourished, and economists were considering investing their newfound financial galore in new sectors. Many took special interest in arts; contemporary and impressionist art specifically.

This novel investment caused the art scene to commercially expand, noticeably, to around 30–40 billion USD, the highest it has ever reached. However, it all came to an end; where after the global economic crisis many artworks’ prices declined, by high rates, some reaching 50%, while controversially, some other artworks prices hiked.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) art scene is the latest to be eyed internationally. The trend for emerging markets started with Latin America, then Russia and China, and now the MENA.

Sotheby’s started selling Arabic artworks in 2001 and fared well, then in 2006 they opened their gallery in Dubai following Christie’s in 2005. Their target profit was only 30 million USD for three years at the start, but they reached more than a 100 million USD in the second year. And now, not only does the UAE boast the presence of Christie’s and Sotheby’s, the most important art auction houses in the world but also, Abu Dhabi is currently creating an island dedicated to arts, which will be featuring Guggenheim and The Louvre, the two most esteemed art museums on the planet.


Where is it heading?

This interest in contemporary Arab and Iranian art is reaching tremendous proportions both regionally and internationally, but unfortunately art is going through many channels that are components of the art market weakening it focally.

Many trends sprouted from the commercial success of art, and galleries and art investors were frowned upon as the instruments of art’s decline, yet many forgot that their presence helped create the market, and help move it. They might harm, yet they create the movement needed for art to flourish.

The art market nowadays is financial, and many banks are investing in it such as CITIBANK and Deutsche Bank, but this doesn’t mean that the value of artists should be valued by money.

Other than auction houses—who account of two thirds of the art revenues—galleries, art fares, museums and governments are responsible for moving the art scene; especially museums, which are considered to be the alpha player in the market because they have high morals and they tend to move the market, yet even they are getting into the market.

The MENA now has a market, it needs to supplement it with real art, true artists. It should capitalize on the presence of auction houses and galleries, and catch up with other emerging markets such as the Chinese and Latin American; until now, video arts, installation and paper arts aren’t present, nor even considered to be arts. Until all that is done, we cannot call our art scene a real one; a culture of arts is needed.

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