Doha 15th & 16th March
Art Dubai, 19-21 March 2009, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE
Contemparabia, 15-22 March, Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi

Regional and international art lovers visited Doha on the 15th of March for an exclusive cultural gathering and tour which took place at the Museum of Islamic art .  An exceptional programme of events, exhibitions, talks, tours and performances taking place in Doha, Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi will give visitors a unique opportunity to experience the outstanding quality and vibrancy of the region’s art scene.
Taking place from 15 to 21 March 2009, The Qatar Museums Authority, Sharjah Biennial, Abu Dhabi Authority for Art and Culture and Art Dubai will collaborate in Contemparabia.  The Contemporabia tour kicked off in Doha on March 15th, 2009 .

Contemporabia is an initiative designed to offer international collectors, press, curator and art professionals a comprehensive introduction to the finest art projects currently underway in the GCC.
Following the tour, The Global Art forum was held today at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. Each participating city, Doha, Abu Dhabi , Dubai and Sharjah  will host a series of panel discussions and presentations  tailor made for each location.

The First day of the Global Art Forum took place in the Museum of Islamic Art  Doha. The first panel discussion was called  "Creating an Audience: Museums and Art Institutions and the Public" moderated by Roger Mandle, Executive Director of the Qatar Museums Authority. The panelists included Dr Oliver Watson, Director of the Museum of Islamic Art, Max Hollein, Director Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, Hermitage Museum , St Petersburg, Marc –Olivier Whaler, Director Palais de Tokyo, Paris.  Gail Dexter Lord, Co Preseident , Lord Cultural Resources, Toronto gave a presentation on Building Museums focusing on the Museum as a central element. The second panel of the day was  "Creating spaces" moderated by Wassan Al Khudhairi, Collections Curator of the Arab Museum of Modern Art, Panelists included HE Sheikh Abdulla Al Thani, Vice President of Education at Qatar Foundation, Founder of Al Markhiya Gallery, Qatar.  Dr Nada Shabout, Associate Professor at the University of North Texas, ,Gilane Tawadros Independent curator and writer, former Director of inIVA, London. Moataz Nasr, Artist , Founder of Darb 1718 in Egypt, Cairo.

Over 100 International guests; gallerie owners , collectors , curators and artists from around the world have arrived in Doha and attended the Global Art Forum at the Museum of Islamic Art.

The kind of growth that has been recently witnessed is proof of the continued importance of the contemporary art market in the region. This is greatly encouraged by the Qatar Museums Authority in Doha.

Contemparabia is a joint initiative of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH); Art Dubai; the Sharjah Biennial and the Qatar Museums Authority. www.contemparabia.com.