As the Abu Dhabi Art Fair opens, curator Jack Persekian explains the key element in the ascent of contemporary Middle Eastern art:

“A friend of mine called me and said: ‘Jack, Guggenheim New York bought one of my pieces and it’s now in the collection’.”

Other artists came to the curator with similar stories. “It’s like, wow, what’s happening? All of a sudden the western world, let’s call it the centre of the contemporary art movement, all of a sudden is interested in buying and taking these artists into the main collections there. So there’s definitely a change in the attitudes.”

The cause, in Persekian’s view, is simple: Saadiyat. “It is such a magnet, and drew so much attention,” he says. “Saadiyat brought about such a tremendous polarity in terms of attracting or turning the attention of a lot of people to this part of the world, that the whole art movement and artists are now enjoying a much higher profile.”

Vision in a Minor Key (The National)