Unfamiliar Expression

Have you seen any consumption patterns that seem to be influenced by oil?
There was one sheik who came in and bought an entire exhibition by a Lebanese artist before the show even started.

Religious norms and social restrictions vary from country to country in the Gulf. They must affect the kinds of art being produced — for instance, no nudes.
On the contrary, I had an exhibition of all nudes. I had a sign sitting on my desk that I intended to hang at the entrance to all the rooms, warning people that there would be nudes. An Emirati woman walked in before it was installed and said, "Where's the artist? I want to see her." I took her to the artist, unsure of what was about to happen, and she said, "Will you do my portrait?" Contrary to what people might think, this is not an oppressed country. It's maybe just more unexpressed.

How does censorship factor into the region ' s art process?
Nobody has brought me anything that I would say, "Oh, no. We couldn't show that." It hasn't come in. I don't know if it's a written rule about censorship, but I think that people have so much respect for religion here, that they're not doing things that are really in your face. Sure, there are problems here, but people don't seem to be making art about it yet. Maybe that will come as more art is made.

Where do you think the art scene is headed? What ' s the limit?
In the last few years I've seen artists doing their work, and they are so energized. When people are paying that much attention it encourages artists to produce more. Artists are coming from all over the world to Dubai. It's moving straight up, but it feels like such a grass-roots movement now. Dubai really is the land of opportunity. It's not just for the money that people come here; it's also that they can make a difference in a place that is being built right before our eyes.

What brought you to Dubai to open a gallery?
We were living in Florida. My husband works with horses, and he was asked by [Dubai ruler and horse-racing enthusiast] Sheikh Mohammed to come to Dubai in 1993. Before I left America, I was on the verge of opening a gallery, and I decided "That's OK; I'll just open a gallery as soon as I get there." It took four years to come to fruition because of bureaucratic hurdles.

© 2008