This weekend sees the beginning of the Global Art Forum, which concludes in Art Dubai in March. Under the theme Trading Places the idea is to explore the relationship between the economy of goods and ideas that constantly shape who and where we are.
Conceived by the commissioner of the forum Shumon Basar with Antonia Carver and Oscar Guardiola-Rivera as co-directors, the event aims to delive into the stories of the making and remaking of the world through trade.
Highlights include a presentation on the history of trade and exchange in the UAE by Uzma Z. Rizvi and the fair’s new director Myrna Ayad talking about one of the biggest trades ever made in the international art market - the exchange of a section of a great Persian manuscript of the 16th century (Houghton Shahnameh) with one of the masterpieces of abstract expressionism, Willem de Kooning’s Woman III.
On Saturday, a Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi will be conducting a guided tour through his native Sharjah, as will writer and researcher Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh and designer Tulip Hazbar.
It looks set to be a stellar weekend of art, discussion, activity and brain exercise. I highly recommend heading on down.