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A version of this analysis was commissioned by London-based Pictorum Advisory for their June Quarterly Report.

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Christie’s and Sotheby’s increasing engagement with the states of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) begs a closer look at the region’s aspiring and established creative economies.

Last month, Christie’s Middle East reprised its Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art auction in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a category it has not run since 2019, with works on sale online and on show at Dubai International Financial Centre until 16 May. The sale totaled at USD 2,277,072. Last November, Christie’s London had a live auction and online sale of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art, bringing in around GBP 2,191,140. Both sales indicated an uptick in interest in Middle Eastern Art.

But there also seems to be a shift in regional market appetites as well.

Perrotin co-founder Dylan Lessel told The Art Newspaper that when Sotheby’s and Christie’s first arrived in Dubai in the early 2000s, they were only doing private sales for modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art because the market was very limited then. In comparison, today’s local collectors have developed an appetite for Western artists and the market is strong enough to support a programme that goes beyond the Middle East.

In fact, UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, has been home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi since 2017 and is set to welcome more mega-museums, namely the Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. UAE is also home to internationally acclaimed institutions such as the Sharjah Art Foundation, Jameel Arts Center, and cultural district Alserkal Avenue.

Beyond engendering a whole new standard of exhibition-making and critical discourse, UAE is also known globally for its mainstay art fair, Art Dubai, and galleries such as Green Art Gallery. More recently, Perrotin set up a small space in Dubai last November, its first outpost in the Middle East, in the same tax-free zone where Sotheby’s and Christie’s have their offices.

The Emirates’ leading families and its government have spearheaded much of its $10.7 billion creative sector. In fact, last April the government launched the Dubai Creative Economy Strategy, aiming to double the number of creative businesses operating in UAE by 2025. The government also intends to build a national art collection by sourcing loans from private collectors, a move likely to create more excitement in the local and regional auction market.

While there was a new 9% corporate tax hike last month, the UAE Ministry of Finance intends to exempt free zone companies, even when they have dealings with the mainland for “strategic activities such as manufacturing, goods processing and logistics services”, as per Reuters.

The UAE’s success has led other GCC countries to endeavor to position themselves as cultural tourism hubs, primarily for the sake of economic diversification. After all, GCC states have long been concerned about the impact of oil and gas running out and this could happen sooner rather than later for the likes of Bahrain and Oman.

Therefore, it came as little surprise when Qatar announced plans last year to build three more museums in its capital, Doha. The ambitious project includes the new Lusail Museum which will be home to the most comprehensive collection of Orientalist art and artefacts. Qatar museums have already garnered their fair share of international buzz. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there were concerted PR efforts to promote Doha’s museums, with the likes of Bella Hadid and Naomi Campbell in attendance at The Museum of Islamic Art’s exhibition opening.

Let’s not forget the upcoming development of a large-scale museum by Paris’ Centre Pompidou in Saudi’s AlUla desert complex and archaeological site. This is in addition to the Wadi Al-Fann, translated as “Valley of the Arts”, and set to launch in 2024. The ambitious project will feature newly commissioned large-scale public artworks by international and local artists across dunes and cliffs. All this is part of efforts by the monarchy to open more than 200 cultural attractions by 2030.

Global auction houses are definitely paying attention. Last February, Sotheby’s partnered with the Visual Arts Commission of the Ministry of Culture, as part of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation public programming, to organize a digital art forum in Riyadh. A month later, Sotheby’s appointed a new managing director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a bid to expand its presence in the region.

While the GCC’s growth potential is undeniable, its human rights issues remain contentious. For example, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi had its opening pushed from 2012 to 2025 due to the pandemic, staff turnover and numerous reports regarding the treatment of South Asian migrant workers involved in the project. In fact, working conditions of migrant workers in the Emirates, specifically Saadiyat Island with its mega-museums, have drawn the ire of human rights and labor organizations. Human rights violations are also an exigent point of concern with the likes of Saudi, especially given the controversies plaguing its monarchy, the very same parties spearheading the Gulf state’s cultural initiatives.

Yet, some of the most original and critical artistic discourse exploring these very issues can found within the region. In fact, this dichotomy points to a blatant bias amongst those in the art world who remain uninterested in GCC’s multifaceted arts scene but dare not write off such creative growth in other geopolitically palatable countries with problematic leadership or legislature.

Nonetheless, the rapidly shifting landscape of socioeconomic and political interests could prove a deterrence to consistent growth in the Gulf’s auction market. After all, it was only less than two decades ago, during the last recession, that Dubai needed a $10 billion bailout from Abu Dhabi.