00:02Global art sales are facing a slowdown.
00:05Across Europe and North America, demand has fallen.
00:10In 2024, global art market sales reached an estimated $57.5 billion,
00:17a whopping 12% year-on-year decline.
00:21As traditional markets struggle, art dealers are now turning to the oil-rich Gulf region.
00:28The second you land here, you see the ambition.
00:31I mean, it's basically the future.
00:35It feels unreal and very new.
00:39It's extremely important. That's why we're here.
00:42And, you know, with patience and a long view,
00:45I think this is going to be a great hub like Abu Dhabi and like Dubai.
00:53The people coming by are a very, very interesting mix.
00:57Of course, you have the Qataris you're meeting,
01:00other dealers, for instance, from Saudi and other parts of the region.
01:08Earlier this month, Art Basel held its first ever fair in Qatar.
01:12The prestigious art platform known for events in Miami, Hong Kong, Paris and Switzerland
01:19is now looking to the Middle East for new growth.
01:23And really just looking at developments in the global art world,
01:26you know, we felt the time was right to enter the Minasa region.
01:30And I think the evolution that we've seen through the growth of the market in Asia
01:36and here now in the Middle East feels like it's the right time.
01:41And so with each turn of the cycle in our industry, we've seen two principal things.
01:47We've seen new audiences come to the table and new content.
01:51Gulf nations are investing heavily in culture and the arts.
01:56Billions of dollars are being spent on museums, creative industries and tourism.
02:01I feel there is a kind of like revolution in the Arab world right now, not just in the Gulf,
02:06in the whole Arab world from Cairo to Beirut to Baghdad to Kuwait to whatever.
02:13So, I mean, there is a new era about culture, about art, yeah.
02:22Qatar has developed major cultural institutions while Saudi Arabia and the UAE
02:28are expanding their art sectors as part of economic diversification plans.
02:35At the Doha Feo, international galleries showcased major works,
02:40including early pieces by Bulgarian artist Christo.
02:43He really likes the proportion of this like very simple everyday object.
02:49And it wasn't even like any connotation to the oil industry or criticism or for it.
02:53He never like put that.
02:55It was really about the aesthetics of the piece.
02:58Art leaders say the region represents the future,
03:02a new hub for collectors, artists and global galleries.
03:07Artists from across the Arab region are also gaining attention,
03:11reflecting what many describe as a cultural shift in the region.
03:25We have a question about the power of a cultural history.
03:25Of the world where we have a theme of a culture that can be installed,
03:25of the political debate can be installed.
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