From niche to mass appeal: Jameel Arts Centre hits Dubai ground running

Photo: Children's opening at Jameel Arts Centre. Photo courtesy Art Jameel

DUBAI - A year after the high-profile and extravagant opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi, which drew French and UAE government leaders and a fly-past by an Etihad A380, neighbouring Dubai welcomed a new venue by an organisation that has been slowly but surely making its mark in the world of art.

On November 11 the Jameel Arts Centre opened on Dubai’s new Jaddaf Waterfront. It is the first purpose-built contemporary art centre of its size—10,000 square metres—in the UAE that is backed by a non-commercial, non-governmental institution. The organization behind it is Art Jameel, the non-profit arm of Saudi conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel that earned its fortunes from a diversified portfolio of interests across the Middle East.

Art Jameel may not be familiar to the mainstream UAE resident but it is a mainstay and respected institution in the contemporary art world. Three years after its establishment in 2003, the organization stamped its entrance into the art world with the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A). In 2009, it launched its flagship biennial Jameel Prize that awards contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition, which has become a fixture in the global art calendar.