Unfamiliar Expression

First came China, then India and now the Gulf: drawn by the siren call of record sales, the art world has come calling, crowning the region as a crucial emerging market for contemporary art. Mona Hauser, the owner of the XVA Gallery in Dubai, was one of the pioneers when she opened her shop in 2003. She spoke with NEWSWEEK'S Sameer Reddy about the Gulf's nascent art industry. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Do your customers generally prefer a certain kind of art: paintings, photography, sculpture, mixed media?
Hauser: All of the above. People need art for their restaurants. People are buying art to invest. People are commissioning art. Why not buy something to go over their sofa that will increase in value exponentially?

In your opinion, what distinguishes contemporary Middle Eastern art?
Calligraphy is a regional style; symbols, I suppose, are another motif. But I don't think art should be characterized by the region it comes from. It should be more the psyche that generates it. When you precipitate it down to that level you aren't talking about art anymore, you're talking about a souvenir from the region.

What distinguishes the different Gulf countries ' approaches to art and culture?
Things are starting to percolate all over the Middle East, but Dubai is still the epicenter. Different areas have different focuses. The auctions are here, the art fairs are here. Museums are springing up around the region—the Sharjah Biennial in Sharjah, the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar. Kuwait is very active with galleries, and many well-known art collectors live there.

Oil is such an important force in the region. How has it affected the evolution of the art market?
You don't have to even say "oil money." There's just so much money here in general. Money attracts markets, and the art market is another one that is developing here. It's astounding. All of a sudden, the light is on Dubai, in a lot of different ways: property, architecture, shopping malls—many different things.

Are there any art initiatives you ' re aware of that specifically address the region ' s relationship to oil?
I just heard that Christo [the famed artist most recently in the news for his New York City installation, "The Gates"] is trying to do an installation with oil barrels, proposed for Abu Dhabi.