In February, Sheikh Sultan bin
Tahnoun Al Nahyan and I jointly
hosted a press conference in
Abu Dhabi at which we announced
an innovative cultural partnership
between Sotheby's and the Abu Dhabi
Authority for Culture and Heritage,
ADACH, and the Abu Dhabi Tourism
Authority, ADTA. Both parties signed
a memorandum of understanding,
and whilst Sheikh Sultan spoke of
the role that Sotheby's can play in
promoting culture in the region, I was
able to outline our plans to work with
them, and review steps we will take to
strengthen our presence in this crucial
growth area for our business.
Later that day I reviewed a truly
remarkable exhibition at the Emirates
Palace Hotel showing the extraordinary
plans that are under way to develop
Saadiyat Island into the home of one
of the greatest concentrations of art
and culture anywhere in the world.
The importance of the Gulf as a global
centre for the arts could not have
been more evident. The region is fast
becoming a pivotal hub between the
East and West, and ground-breaking
initiatives such as that at Saadiyat
Island can only serve to further
reinforce the region's position as a
strategic centre.
Sotheby's relationship with the Gulf
Region goes back to 1755 when we held
our first sale of Islamic art in London, and
this new partnership, which marks our
continued commitment to the region, will
allow us to set in motion and achieve our
plans for the Middle East. These include
exhibiting highlights from our upcoming
auctions as well as important pieces from
Sotheby's Diamonds and undertaking
educational initiatives, including a series
of lectures and programmes about the
art market. We have also just sponsored
the education programme of the DIFC
Gulf Art Fair – the first major international
Contemporary Art Fair in the Middle East.
Later this year we are planning a
'Sotheby's Week', which will coincide
with our first ever dedicated London sale
of Contemporary Middle Eastern Art
and will include exhibitions, educational
programmes, music, performance and
other significant projects. In 2008 we plan
to run a competition for Contemporary
Middle Eastern Art.
The competition has been designed
to encourage international recognition
of practicing emerging artists from the
Arab world and we expect it to attract
entries of the highest calibre from
artists throughout the Middle East and
Gulf regions, as well as those currently
based in key European and American
centres. Nominations for the prize
will be widely exhibited in a variety of
locations, culminating in a final show
at our New Bond Street premises in
London, prior to the announcement of
the winning awards in October.
Charity auctions can make a huge
difference to the causes they support
and for that reason we are committed
to offering our expertise in this arena.
I have already enjoyed the privilege of
taking two of the biggest charity auctions
ever held in the region (the most recent
one making US$11.25 million) and
my colleague Lord Poltimore recently
conducted a hugely successful charity
auction for the Al Madad Foundation in
Dubai. This is a tradition we very much
hope to continue.
Sotheby's relationships with clients
from across the Arab world have always
been of enormous importance to us, and
now, with our move into the Gulf region
we hope to be in a position to nurture
those relationships even further.
Henry Wyndham is Chairman of
Sotheby's Europe
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