Simply Abu Dhabi XX

2 6 6 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Art Attack Many locals say that the international buzz and huge investments seen over the last decade is thanks in no small part to Art Basel Miami Beach – one of the most important art events in the United States and certainly the most talked-about. This sister fair to Art Basel Switzerland unites the weird and wonderful from the international art world – the collectors, dealers, curators, critics and artists – and throws them into a celebratory whirl of exhibits, A-list parties, lectures and alternative happenings. Over five days in December artworks by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries are displayed to the delight and shock of the art glitterati… and the celebrity-packed parties rage on. It was like this from the debut of the fair in 2002 and it has helped transformMiami into one of the world’s preeminent centres for art. It’s not just the lofty world of leading galleries and the crème de la crème that benefit from the art avalanche. Entire neighbourhoods have been rejuvenated through art.