MALAYSIA ART GALLERIES (MAG)
UNVEILS ART SERVICES SHOWCASE IN MALAYSIAN SERVICES EXHIBITION
17-19 MARCH MSE 2009, DUBAI UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
By Faridah Hanim

The Beginning

The idea to promote art together with MATRADE was initialised by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Minister of International Trade and Industry at that time, during his visit to launch The Art Expo Malaysia in National Art Gallery (NAG) on 11th November 2008. Looking back at how Art Expo Malaysia was held in MATRADE and had secured sales and orders worth RM5.3 million within 5 days, it is clear that MATRADE is the vital platform to promote Malaysian Art internationally. This idea was materialised at Malaysian Services Exhibition - MSE 2009, 17-19 March, organised by MATRADE in Dubai recently. This show was an indication of how serious NAG is in aggressively promoting art as another “commodity” worth exporting.

Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE minister of Foreign Trade and the Honourable Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Minister of International Trade and Industry in Malaysia inaugurated the Malaysia Services Exhibition (MSE 2009). The opening ceremony was attended by diplomats, senior trade officials and prominent businessmen from GCC and neighbouring region as well as Malaysians including His Excellency Dato’ Yahaya Abdul Jabar, Malaysian Ambassador to the UAE.

This project is fully supported by the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage Malaysia and National Art Gallery, Malaysia and the pioneer project initiated together with The International Trade and Industry, is a quantum leap for us to allow for the development, engagement, appreciation and mutual understanding of cross cultural art and traditions. It offers the opportunity to promote bilateral exchange and dissemination of cross cultural art. Within this conducive environment, innovative and thriving artistic and cultural minds can be nurtured and continually developed amongst the organisers and the audience.

The aim of this exchange is to strengthen the bilateral relationship and provide communicational and educational benefits to participants and audiences in both countries by increasing cultural awareness and respect, indirectly enhancing cultural and artistic quality and understanding of both countries.

The three-day exhibition, organised by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) with the support of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Dubai Export Development Corporation, showcases a range of world-class professional services from Malaysia, especially services critical to the sectors seen to be drivers of economic and social change in the Middle East, North Africa and CIS.

MSE 2009 follows the success of the first such exhibition held in Sharjah in 2008, with 168 companies representing 11 industry clusters. This year’s event is attended by over 200 service providers from 13 clusters - construction, engineering, financial services, healthcare and hospital-related services, ICT, oil & gas, education and specialized training, energy and power generation, logistics and transportation, professional services, franchising, design and art.

Being its maiden participation with MATRADE with 5 other Malaysian Art Galleries ( RA Fine Arts, ThreeHundredSixty Art Gallery, ArtSeni, City Art Gallery and Espi Fine Art Gallery) this is Indeed a new experience us to participate in the Malaysia Services Exhibition (MSE). Good contacts were made over the exhibition. However, the potential clients for art in MSE are very limited, as the scope of exhibition were too broad. Thus, it did not cater specifically to art lovers/ collectors, as the market for art is very much a niche market. Therefore, visiting Art Dubai 2009 gave us art opportunity to identify the response and determine how Malaysian art services can compete with other services in this fair.

Global Art Forum

The NAG reconnaissance of the rest of Dubai started with the Global Art Forum in Islamic Art Museum in Doha, with a strong focus on Middle East culture and its interaction with the international art community. More than sixty of the art world’s leading personalities gather in Doha and in Dubai for the 3rd edition of the Global Art Forum. First launched in March 2007, the Global Art Forum brings together artists, curators, museum directors, and art professionals to discuss pressing issues that affect art today and which will define its future.

This year, from the 18th - 20th March, the Global Art Forum returns to its home at Art Dubai for three days dedicated to legendary artists, collectors, curators and filmmakers as well as some of the most exciting art projects from around the globe. On the first day leading museum directors and curators participating the forum examined the relationship between the public and the museum through topics such as Building the Museum, The Future of the Museum and Creating Spaces: Cultural Development and Art Practices. Day two, the 18th March, is supported by DCAA (Dubai Culture & Arts Authority), begins with Good Morning Russia and discusses the vibrant and unique art scene in Moscow. Is Collecting a Statement or a Cause? More and more collectors are shying away from iconic collections and are working actively hand in hand with artists, curators, institutions and other collectors to help produce works of art, education programmes, and making art accessible to the public. DCAA also presented: Press Announcement ‘Opening’ by the UAE Pavilion for the 53rd Venice Art Biennale. 19th March and this was hosted by ADACH (Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage). The programme focused on key issues that are driving the projects of the Authority forward starting with Contemporary Culture and Living Tradition. The mission of ADACH is Cultural Diplomacy from the Perspective of the Arab World as a Constructive Conversation with the West. The fourth day, 20th March, began with Brave New World: The New Deal in the Art World. In the current economic climate, artists, curators and collectors have to seek and secure new deal in terms of getting significant artworks produced and exhibited. The harmonious alignment of public and private initiatives are the essence, and the way they are initiated, managed and communicated were keys in rebuilding trust in the art world.

During the official visit of H.E. Dato’ Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob, Ambassador of Malaysia in Doha, Qatar, the NAG DG, Dr Mohamed Najib Ahmad Dawa and Mr Ch’ng Huck Theng, member of Board of director presented the book SUSURMASA. The discussion touched on some issues including ways to promote Malaysian art in Doha initiated by having an Art reception in the Embassy of Malaysia in Doha in the end of this year.

Dubai Art Fair

Leaving Doha for Dubai on the 16th March, we arrived and were greeted by Mr. Raja Ibrahim Raja Mamat, Vice Consul from Consulate general office in Dubai. Dinner invitation with the delegation and Malaysian Consul General and his wife, Mr. Syed Mohd Hasrin Tengku Hussin and other officers at Madinah Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

With two-thirds of participating galleries coming from abroad, Art Dubai 2009 has stamped its mark as a leading international fair. The event attracted several major museum directors and facilitated significant new collaborations with regional art centres such as Doha, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi. At the same time, few of the delegation members; ThreeHundredSixty, RA Fine Arts, Art Seni and City Art Gallery managed to visit The Sharjah Biennale at the Sharjah Art Museum as a part of the visit program. We observed how art had been celebrated across Dubai this week, from the heritage area of Bastakiya to DIFC and the Madinat Jumeirah. The main hall, galleries participated responded to the challenges of the world economy with well considered exhibitions of exceptional quality confirming the resilience and adaptability of the contemporary art market both internationally as well as in the Middle East.

“Discovery was a crucial theme of this year’s fair – galleries brought a wide range of new artists into the market and collectors reacted extremely positively to this mix of new names and new works.” Oliver Watson, Chief Curator Museum of Islamic Art, Doha.

The Malaysia Galleries must be able to participate in such international art fair. It helps to position gallery internationally and attract new buyers. This is the first time we realized Malaysia is potential at Art Dubai. We are impressed by the fact that ThreeHundredSixty made to sales, one was made to Royal collector. The artwork sold are Raja Shahriman Raja Aziddin and Abu Bakar Idris.

MAG could have done with a few more sales but considering the current climate, the result was good. We made wonderful contacts at this perfectly run exhibition. MAG considered attracting new clientele in different industries while making new contacts and building relationships with buyers in the UAE and abroad.

Among the note worthy sale highlights from the fair included:

- New York-based gallery Goff + Rosenthal’s, featuring pieces by Iraqi-born artist Ahmed Alsoudani, sold out

- Athr Gallery from Jeddah sold the majority of their works on their debut at Art Dubai

- Sfeir-Semler gallery, with branches in Lebanon and Germany, sold pieces to both American museums and European collectors

- Beirut-based Agial gallery, sold more than 80% of its pieces. Buyers took their pick of Andy Warhol’s depiction of cars, sold for $1.95 million, photographs by famous Iranian artist Shirin Neshat for more than $300,000, and a Julian Opie piece for $62,000. This year’s event, which rans until Saturday, brings together a record 68 participating galleries from 28 countries, and thousands of art lovers.

MAG should get a better / prominent area and coverage as it can lead to a bigger exposure and can associate itself with a more credible visitors started with participation into MSE 2009. It is significant to have our own Malaysian Art Fair. This year for instance, both Tokyo and Hong Kong will launch new events modeled along hip fairs such as Art Basel and London’s Frieze. In the face of a possible international downturn in the financial markets, the global art market is looking to the emerging markets of the Middle East and Asia to keep it fuelled. The galleries responded to the challenges of the world economy with well considered exhibitions of exceptional quality confirming the resilience and adaptability of the contemporary art market both internationally as well as local.

Indeed, art galleries have mushroomed in Dubai and a healthy competition has developed with Abu Dhabi, which is building five art and culture centers on Saadiyat Island. Those centers will include a branch of the Louvre and the Guggenheim, with buildings designed by leading architects including Frank Gehry.

Thus, to have our own international art fair/ expo in Malaysia is crucial. NAG is looking at the development aspects of international trade in cultural industries particularly visual art. The contemporary art scene is booming, and Dubai is well positioned to capitalize on this boom. There is a growing interest from collectors, both private institutional and corporate, who realize that art, at least in this region, is protected from the financial woes. This enables more local galleries to participate in an international art platform, helping them to build their galleries’ reputation. Instead of our galleries exhibiting abroad with huge expenses involved, foreign galleries will take up booths in our Malaysia art fair/expo. This also helps in attracting international art collectors and media to our country. With that, our name in the international art scene is built. The facts that, Dubai, the Gulf’s commercial heart, is increasingly attracting contemporary artists, especially from neighbouring Iran and South Asia, as exhibition venues multiply. Zero import and export taxes for art, and a free flow of capital has already poised the Emirate to become a possible rival to Hong Kong, the world’s third most important art auction hub after New York and London. International art fairs in Asia and the Middle East have helped fuel demand for modern art. In the contemporary world, a new development paradigm is emerging that links the economy and culture, embracing economic, cultural, technological and social aspects of development at both the macro and micro levels. Central to the new paradigm is the fact that creativity, knowledge and access to information are increasingly recognized as powerful engines driving economic growth and promoting development in a globalizing world. “Creativity” in this context refers to the formulation of new ideas and to the application of these ideas to produce original works of art and cultural products, functional creations, scientific inventions and technological innovations. There is thus an economic aspect to creativity, observable in the way it contributes to entrepreneurship, fosters innovation, enhances productivity and promotes economic growth. Art Dubai 2009 saw considered buying from both established and new collectors, while making new contacts and building relationships with buyers in the UAE and abroad.

The conclusion which can be drawn from Art Dubai 2009 is that there remains a robust appreciation in the market for artwork of the highest quality, with proposed art fair such as ours enabling Malaysian galleries to introduce new artists and foster the development of new collections.

Nonetheless, according to the organizer, MSE 2009 - the biggest showcase of Malaysian services overseas – will serve as a broad platform for sourcing and networking for service providers from Malaysia and their potential partners in the targeted markets. The exhibition has already attracted visitors from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, Bahrain, the Netherlands, the UK, Italy, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya and South Africa.

Rapid development in Malaysia and prudent investment by the government in infrastructure development and human capital had produced many leading players in the country capable of providing world-class professional services in diverse sectors. This development realising visual art industry must play a greater role in promoting art in international market.