The restoration of Art Dubai demonstrates Julius Baer’s ongoing dedication to fostering the rise of the UAE as a regional cultural center. Refik Anadol’s commission for the Julius Baer lounge at Art Dubai’s 2023 edition will be on display as a part of the Bank’s global project NEXT, which aims to promote the multidisciplinary examination of megatrends in the fields of art, science, and technology.
The organization’s partnership with Julius Baer, its lead partner since 2015, has been extended for five years through 2027. As part of its ongoing commitment to assisting the UAE’s emergence as a regional cultural hub, the Swiss wealth management group has partnered with Art Dubai, the premier art fair for the Middle East and the Global South.
It also demonstrates Julius Baer’s support for the local art scene, which is developing and drawing more attention from the international art world. The Madinat Jumeirah will host Art Dubai from March 1 to March 5, 2023. Established in 2007, Art Dubai is the most prominent location to view and purchase modern and contemporary art from the Global South.
Art Dubai promotes art and artists from all over the Global South through its Contemporary, Modern, and Digital gallery sections, annual artist commissions, year-round collector, and education programs. It offers a pertinent and increasingly significant alternative to popular, largely Western-led narratives.
Refik Anadol, an internationally renowned media artist, director, and pioneer in the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence, was hired by Julius Bär to create the initiative’s first project.
His corpus of workplace creativity is at the meeting point of people and technology. Anadol paints with a thinking brush by using the data surrounding us as the primary material and the neural network of a computerized mind as a collaborator.
This opens up new possibilities for architecture, narrative, and the body in motion while providing us with radical visualizations of our digitized memories.
While challenging us to reconsider how we interact with the physical world, its temporal and spatial dimensions, and the artistic potential of machines, Anadol’s site-specific AI data sculptures, live audio/visual performances, and immersive installations take many forms.
At Julius Bär, Régis Burger, Global Head of Middle East & Africa, said: “As Art Dubai promotes meaningful connection with the region’s rich cultural legacy and modern artistic practices, we are thrilled to further extend our long-term cooperation with the organization. We are happy to be partners in this venture because the art fair is a crucial talent incubator that fosters healthy cultural interchange. As part of the NEXT initiative, Refik Anadol’s artwork, created specifically for Julius Baer, will be featured at Art Dubai for the first time. This is another reason why we are proud of the bank because it has a long history of supporting emerging cultures.”
The leading global platform for art and artists from the Middle East and Global South, Art Dubai’s 16th edition will present over 120 participants from more than 40 countries and six continents across four gallery sections: Contemporary, Modern, Bawwaba, and Art Dubai Digital. The gallery program is complemented by newly commissioned artworks by the region’s leading artists and extensive and multidisciplinary talks and education programs.
