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The Art of Patronage

The role ‘patrons of the art’ — enthusiasts who value art and artists for personal or commercial reasons — is perfectly embodied in the words of American poet and critic Ezra Pound.

He said, “If a patron buys from an artist who needs money, the patron then makes himself equal to the artist; he is building art into the world; he creates.” Even as art patrons stand behind the curtains or opt to be in the shadows, their contribution to art creation, therefore, remains invaluable.

The role of the patrons of the arts in 
building the cultural fabric of Dubai is a clear testament on how true love and enthusiasm for the arts and generosity can build a vibrant cultural context for a city. One of the sterling examples of this association — between artists and patrons — comes alive in Al Quoz today, the hub of independent art galleries, and indeed an unlikely place, on the face of it, for art lovers to meet and share their outlook of the arts and pursue business opportunities.

Less than a decade ago, other than private collectors, the concept of cultural discussion in the city was confined to the Bastakiya area, which housed a few galleries. Artists worked like islands; a few gained the spotlight. Others continued their passion, largely on solo mode.

Patronage for other forms of art too was nascent; there were the one-off music concerts, a few theatre events, isolated attempts at filmmaking, and some corporate outreach to develop sculpting.

“Today, Dubai has a distinctive cultural milieu and identity,” observes Saeed Al Nabouda, acting director-general of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for culture, heritage and the arts. “And this current growth was not achieved overnight. The city always had the talent, the artistic initiatives — all it needed was integration and a sense of direction. Dubai Culture provided this platform, and one of our pioneering initiatives to achieve our goal of shaping a culturally vibrant global metropolis was to encourage the patrons of the arts,” says Nabouda.

The inaugural Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Patrons of the Arts Awards, instituted by Dubai Culture, honoured 59 patrons this year for their valuable contributions of almost Dh250 million from 2007 to 2009 towards visual arts, film, performing arts, and literature.

Dubai Culture went one step further to analyse the patronage patterns and realised that close to 90 per cent of the financial support was for visual arts.

“It is an interesting coincidence,” says Nabouda. “Over the past three years, Dubai established its reputation as a cultural destination for visual arts, including films. During the same period, the city’s art community enjoyed the support of the patrons.” The direct correlation of patronage and the strengthening of the arts is what Dubai Culture expects to happen across the entire cultural spectrum.

Indeed, the past few years saw a vigorous growth in the visual arts sector of the city. Apart from the number of galleries in the city appealing and catering for artists from across the world, the city also hosts two banner art events — Art Dubai and Bastakiya Art Fair, the latter an initiative of Dubai Culture.

At a grassroots level, the significant patronage — 61.5 per cent of the total — meant that artists in disciplines like painting, sculpting, drawing, calligraphy, printmaking and calligraphy found more support and encouragement to pursue their passion.

With filmmaking receiving 27.5 per cent of the total funds from patrons in the past three years, Dubai has underscored its reputation as the production hub for films, documentaries and animations. Initiatives like the Dubai International Film Festival and Gulf Film Festival, have laid the basis for a film industry, and already UAE-based filmmakers are creating their distinct space in the film world.

The question then is — what of performing arts and literature — the two strong pillars of the cultural scene? Performing arts — comprising dance, music, and theatre, a pillar of the region’s traditional arts — received nine per cent of funding from the patrons. Literature received two per cent of the total funding, headlined by the Emirates Festival of Literature, which has set strong inroads in the past two years.

“Performing arts, including theatre, have strong room for growth in Dubai,” says a theatre enthusiast. “Drama is gaining in public consciousness as is proved by the success of plays produced, directed and enacted by Dubai-based talent. It is a misconception that performing arts do not have strong following — look around for the talent and enthusiasm, and you will find enough reason for patrons to support theatre.”

Dubai Culture is taking the lead with the Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre aimed explicitly at attracting Emirati talent and shaping their skills on all aspects of theatre.

The evolution of a cultural context in any city, in any era, indeed rests on the generous patronage of art-lovers. Dubai has already shown the way that honouring patrons is the key to boosting the cultural scene.

news@khaleejtimes.com