Dubai is widely acknowledged as the art market hub of the Middle East. An increasing number of galleries are relocating to the UAE to expose their artists to international viewers and collectors. One of them is the Palestinian Zawyeh Gallery founded in 2013 in Ramallah.
The gallery promotes emerging and established artists from Palestine and the diaspora through a varied exhibition program and participation in global fairs and art projects. In March 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic, its owners decided to make a bold move to expand their reach in opening a second location in Dubai's Alserkal Avenue. In this Dubai arts and culture district, a cluster of contemporary art galleries are joined by music, food, performing arts and homegrown creative entrepreneurs.
“In Ramallah and the West Bank in general, there is a very limited number of art collectors who collect regularly,” Ziad Anani, director of Zawyeh Gallery, told Al-Monitor. “We work hard to create awareness around collecting art and building collections from scratch.”
Anani first visited the UAE for the art fair Art Dubai in 2016. “I was amazed by the art scene here,” Anani recalled. “Our participation allowed us to meet many art collectors, curators, artists and art enthusiasts. We made many contacts and good sales, which excited me to plan our next Art Dubai exhibition.”
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