The last two decades have been a boom time in the Arabian Gulf. Across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia, high-rise cities have risen from the sands. This rapidly growing infrastructure has included many buildings for art and culture. Qatar built the Museum of Islamic Art in 2008 and has plans to open the Art Mill to house contemporary and modern art; Abu Dhabi has its Louvre outpost and will soon open a Guggenheim; and Saudi Arabia is regularly adding to its museums, including a contemporary art institution in Al Ula being developed in partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris.  Against this backdrop, where does Dubai sit?

With the largest population in the UAE, and being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, it may seem strange that Dubai does not have a dedicated state-run art museum. The infrastructure continues to expand, largely driven by private investment and through foundations like Jameel Arts Centre and Ishara Art Foundation as well as the recently opened Bassam Freiha Art Foundation in Abu Dhabi. However, the city itself is consciously taking a very different approach to the creation of a 21^st century institution.

In October 2020, the Dubai Collection was founded—an innovative partnership between Dubai Culture and Art Dubai. It is the city’s first institutional collection of modern and contemporary art—but it is not your standard state-owned, acquisition-based collection. In an innovative model, the Dubai Collection is built in partnership with our city’s art patrons who support the initiative by lending artworks whilst retaining legal ownership. Patrons can choose to include their artworks in the temporary exhibitions that the Collection curates—often working with guest curators—or to make them publicly accessible, either physically, digitally or both, and all of the artworks can be found online in the Dubai Collection’s digital museum.

Whilst initially focusing on the UAE and the region, the Dubai Collection has no geographical restrictions. Artists represented in the collection include Hassan Sharif, Maha Malluh, Samia Halaby, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Etel Adnan, Mohamed Melehi, Rana Begum, Yinka Shonibare, Baya Mahieddine (or Fatima Haddad) and Dia al-Azzawi, among many others. As you might expect, there is a strong thread of Arab Modernists running through the Collection, but the ultimate aim is to be a collection that fully reflects Dubai’s communities. As of February 2024, the Collection comprises 875 artworks on loan from 76 patrons and it continues to grow. Current patrons include individuals such as Nadine Kanso, George and Helena Salamoun, Fairouz and Jean-Paul Villain, and Muna Easa Al Gurg; corporate collections like the private equity investment firm A.R.M. Holding; as well as Dubai’s Royal Family.

The Collection’s steering committee is chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Muna Al Gurg leads the Curatorial Committee, which is made up of the expert curators and researchers Maryam Al Dabbagh, Nada Shabout, Antonia Carver and Venetia Porter. They are responsible for the selection of artworks and the overall curatorial direction of the Collection.

So, why did Dubai’s cultural leaders decide to create such a different model? The Dubai Collection initiative allows us to provide the public with an opportunity to explore and appreciate important artworks whilst simultaneously supporting Dubai’s cultural infrastructure at all levels. By developing new, locally relevant and driven institutional models, Dubai Collection plays an important role in supporting the whole collecting ecosystem—from artists and galleries to fairs and patrons while encouraging a long-term culture of collecting in the emirate.

The twin goals of expanding and exhibiting the Collection both in the region and beyond and the time-limited nature of the loans will ensure the programme remains dynamic and evolving and reflective of a moment in time in the city’s development.

There are four main pillars to the Dubai Collection’s activities. One is, of course, attracting more patrons to join the initiative and expanding the range of artworks that are on loan to Dubai. Another is supporting scholarship and academic research through the Digital Museum, as well as through commissioned writings by distinguished scholars. There are currently more than 50 articles, essays and detailed artist profiles available to view on the Dubai Collection digital platform by 21 writers, including Zayed University Art History professors and other experts in the region’s art scene.

The third pillar is organising talks and events at key moments in the cultural calendar, including the Collector and Modern Talks at Art Dubai, and Dubai Collection Nights, a seasonal series of activations and events across various locations in the city, including panel discussions, artist studio visits, film screenings and collection visits presented in partnership with leading cultural institutions. Ten of these recorded events from last year’s Dubai Collection Nights are available to watch on the website. Lastly, and certainly not least, the initiative organises physical exhibitions showing highlights from the Collection. The inaugural show was When Images Speak at Dubai’s Etihad Museum (November 6, 2021– May 6, 2022), curated by Nada Shabout. It showed works by Arab artists navigating modernism during the past century and the evolution towards contemporary trends. A series of exhibitions, to take place in international museums and institutions in the region and beyond, are planned in the coming years.

Dubai Collection also opened an exhibition on February 28 at Art Dubai. Called Encounters (لقاءات), it was curated by the Dubai-born artist and curator Alia Zaal Lootah and featured a diverse lineup of 26 artists from the UAE spanning multiple generations, including Hassan Sharif, Mohammed Kazem, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Afra Al Dhaheri, Maitha Abdallah, Hashel Al Lamki and Sarah Almehairi.

Will there, one day, be an art museum in Dubai? Maybe. But if and when one emerges, the groundwork will already have been done. By working alongside the thriving arts ecosystem that already exists in Dubai; by inspiring and educating those who live in and visit the emirate; and by reflecting on the city and its communities, the Dubai Collection has already built a museum—it’s just one without walls.  

The Dubai Collection is an initiative of Dubai Culture managed by Art Dubai Group. www.dubaicollection.ae | @thedubaicollection_

STIR was a Media Partner with Art Dubai 2024, taking place at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, from March 1-3. Click here to read STIR's exclusive coverage of the 17^th edition.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of STIR or its Editors.)