Arteshop attended the conference “Art for tomorrow” which took place in Doha, Quatar and was organized by the International New York Times. The conference was excellent and very informative. The global aspect of art was the prevailing narrative in many talks of the conference. Art is now produced all over the world and shown to diverse audiences. Art is also a global business with an ever multiplying number of art fairs and biennales. All good news for the people involved in the art sector. The Gulf emirates have started an impressive program to develop the arts. The Katara district, a large multiplex of galleries and entertainment will be a magnet for the arts in Quatar and the whole region. Several museums are under construction like the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi, the National Museum of Quatar, the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, Dubai Museum of Contemporary art (DMOCA). The above museums in combination with Art Dubai will establish the emirates as a major art destination for artists and collectors. The conference covered all subjects from collecting art, selling art, organizing art fairs and exhibitions, auctions and the creation of art through the talks of artist like Jeff Koons, Olafur Eliasson and established Middle Eastern artists of different generations. First hand presentations of ideas and buildings under construction by Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhass were a rare opportunity to see how famous architects develop their work. An excellent talk by Kate D. Levin of Bloomberg philanthropies on enriching cities with art and culture and where the most important aspect is authenticity and sustainability through the local society. Another very successful part of the conference was the opportunity to meet and thoroughly talk with people involved in the arts from all over the world in various parts of the industry. This was made possible through well organized lunch and dinner events. Also the conference organized tours and receptions in art related developments in Quatar giving the opportunity to meet several artists and people involved in the art sector through the region. We were able to see the work of many artists and were impressed by the work of Iraqi artists. All this was excellently organized and let to fruitful information and contacts. I think everybody who attended the conference will be looking forward to the next conference of “Art for Tomorrow”. One of the events where you can get inside information of the art world today and meet the influential people behind it. It is highly recommended. For more info: http://www.inytartfortomorrow.com/ http://louvreabudhabi.ae/ http://www.qm.org.qa/en/project/national-museum-qatar
