Her Excellency Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), has inaugurated the 9th edition of World Art Dubai (WAD), the region’s largest contemporary retail art fair taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Her Excellency Hala Badri visited the fair at Za’abeel Halls 1-3 along with H.E. Moon Byung Jun, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Dubai, and met some of the 300 solo artists and galleries exhibiting at the event, including Lisa Ball-Lechgar, Deputy Director at Tashkeel, Lee Wonsoon, Lee Heedon, Florence Biennale, Funun Arts Group, Champop Galerie Paris, Sfumato Art Gallery, Livinc Jordan, Solo Art Gallery, Tanay Kumar, Olivier Poudoua and Farzin Allana, in addition to the artwork entries for this year’s WAD Future Artists from schools across Dubai.
During her tour of WAD, Badri viewed a wide range of creations across different fields, including multimedia, digital and graffiti arts, sculptures, and more. She emphasised that the cultural and artistic movement that Dubai is currently witnessing enhances its position and global leadership as a preferred destination for entrepreneurs and creatives alike, affirming that the exhibition has succeeded in becoming a global platform for artistic diversity, thanks to the remarkable presence it achieves annually on the regional cultural map. Badri also praised the selection of South Korea as the guest of honour for the exhibition, due to its rich cultural diversity, which reflected positively on its arts trends.
Today marked the start of the show’s biggest edition in its history, which offers an opportunity for the public to experience the WAD Around the World programme, shining a spotlight on South Korea’s exciting art scene. For this year’s programme, WAD has partnered with the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Dubai to showcase an amazing programme with 100 artists displaying diverse artworks, an array of live and traditional performances and modern trends from the show’s ‘country of honour.’
WAD has also launched a whole host of new features for 2023, which include the fair’s brand-new art consultancy service, Art Advisory, giving guests the opportunity to be personally guided around the show by top interior designers from Bawadikji Interiors who will match them with art pieces that suit their home or business, as well as the WAD Matchmaking Programme, created to connect rising artists with established galleries.
In addition, WAD has partnered with 8th Ave. Gallery and Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, Dubai’s art hub hotel, to host the duo’s popular Artist in Residency programme for the first time ever. The programme gives international artists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use the city’s culture and unique landscape as inspiration to produce a body of work in 11 weeks.
With so much to see and do across the four-day fair, WAD has also launched its very own app so visitors can easily plan their visit, navigate the show and align meetings.
Asma Al Sharif, Show Director and Assistant Vice President at Exhibitions, Dubai World Trade Centre, commented: “Dubai is a melting pot of culture, creativity and art, so every year at WAD, we aim to reflect this through showcasing a variety of art forms from around the world that celebrates this. We are delighted with the calibre of this year’s artists and artworks and very excited to have South Korea as our Country of Honour for our WAD around the World programme, demonstrating the amazing K-culture that is accelerating the country’s global art presence. The doors are now open to WAD 2023 and we welcome everyone to discover and enjoy a fantastic weekend of art and activities.”
Uniting more than 300 local and international exhibitors from more than 60 countries, WAD showcases diverse, accessible and original art all under one roof, from emerging artists to established talent. As well as being able to browse more than 4,000 artworks, WAD gives art lovers and creatives of all ages the opportunity to immerse themselves in experiential art activations and take part in engaging live art performances and curated art talks and workshops.
Tickets are still available for World Art Dubai, which takes place from 9-12 March at Dubai World Trade Centre, Za’abeel Halls 1, 2, and 3. A dedicated family day on Sunday 12 March will feature a jam-packed programme of art activations, live performances, talks and workshops for young art lovers.
