I was asked to organize and chair one of the first sessions (27 Jan 2013) of the newly established Campus Art Dubai, on the subject of the Kochi Biennale which had opened a month and a half before, and where I held the position of curatorial consultant. Guests were Riyas Komu, one of the founders-directors of that Biennale, Rami Farook, director of Traffic and supporter of the Biennale and the UAE artist of Indian origin Ubik, one of the artists in the Biennale.
I did not read out the column as it is written below, but in an abridged version, to allow for more discussion with the guests and more talk about art.
The artist Ubik installing one of his works at the Kochi Biennale
Column for Campus Art Dubai:
Is the Future of the Gulf’s Art Scene intertwined with India’s?
Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed students, honored guests:
I was asked to give a presentation about my experience of the Kochi Muziris Biennale. But honestly, my role in it was too minor to make my perspective an interesting one for you. I’ve been in ongoing discussions about this Biennale with Riyas and Bose since 2010, and I suggested some names or artists, five of whom made it into the final selection. For the rest my contribution was limited to curating the installations of three artists, and helping out a bit on other issues. I could give you a harrowing account of how I did my best but ultimately failed to get the installations ready on time for the opening; an account of organizational chaos, logistic nightmares, wild oscillations between triumph and despair… but in fact all this is not relevant, especially in the light of the final result, which is excellent.
Instead I wrote a column, which hopefully will stir the debate about artistic cooperation between the Gulf and India. I explore the following question: Is the Future of the Gulf’s Art Scene intertwined with India’s?
Indeed, my major work last year was not working on the Kochi Muziris Biennale. I was mainly busy with writing a website about contemporary art in the Gulf, and performing the required research. The site by the way is called Gulf Art Guide, and it’s online under the same name (gulfartguide dotcom). The biggest job of all was writing an 80-page essay called ‘Introduction to the Gulf Art World’; you can download it on the website and we hope to have a fully illustrated, beautifully designed print version ready for the upcoming Art Dubai.
Now writing can be excruciating, but it can also lead to moments of exaltation. You know, the moment you jump up and shout Eureka!, when you’ve suddenly gained a new insight or made a key discovery, which you know is powerful. It’s a gratifying experience, making the trouble of writing worthwhile.
My Eureka moment came when I contrasted the intellectual development that the Gulf is undergoing to that of the rest of the Arab world. The Gulf cultures were hardly affected by the history of intellectual defeat that the rest of the Arab world has known since the early 19th century. Since Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt there has been a growing realization within the Arab cultural elites, spreading to the masses, of the painful difference between the West and the Arab world in the state and the speed of progress. The Nahda, Nasserism, Baathism, Islamism and other pan-Arab ideologies; all these attempts to remedy this backlog failed. I don’t need to go there, you all know this. OK, they had some positive cultural results, but in the political, overall sense they did not allow the Arab world to catch up with the West.
The countries on the Arabian peninsula stayed out of this fray. They didn’t contribute much to these nationalist ideologies, but in reverse they were not so affected by their failure. To be honest, since several decades after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the countries of the Arabian peninsula have contributed preciously little to Arab culture. So when the countries of this region started modernizing rapidly in the second half of the 20th century, there was no history of failure to bog you down.
The other factor is the geographical location of the Arabian peninsula. The rest of the Arab world is straddled along the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean, literally facing Europe. There is a geographic and historical logic to the Maghreb, Mashreq and Levant taking Europe as their point of reference. This is not so for the Arabian peninsula. India is much closer than Europe. From Dubai Singapore is at about the same distance as London.
This sets apart the Gulf region from the rest of the Arab world. But the main premise of the Gulf Art Guide is that here in the Gulf the potential is emerging to redefine Arab culture. And art is playing an important role in this regard. I’m not saying that the ‘Dubai Arab’ is the model for all the Arabs in the world, nor that this identity has already been constructed. But the sheer possibility to think about it – look at the freedom artists enjoy to investigate issues of Arab identity – and the enthusiasm with which it is received by many in the Arab elites – those are significant and promising developments.
So here we have an Arab society trying to find its place and advantage in the global 21st century, looking at novel models of social and political governance, and at new ways to formulate their own identities: often hybrid but undeniably Arab.
Now let’s cross the Indian Ocean – actually it’s called the Arab sea – to Kochi and the Biennale that took place there. For this first Indian Biennale the curators chose the theme of historical cosmopolitan linkages between the city of Kochi and the rest of the world. The ancient town of Muziris, swept away by a flood in the 14th century, had seen the arrival of the first Jews, Christians and Muslims on the Subcontinent. Kochi was always the major port for Kerala and the highlands of the Deccan, and brisk trade took place between Kochi and many regions straddled along the Indian ocean and beyond, such as Bahrain, Yemen, Zanzibar and Malacca. In the period of European colonial expansion Kochi was successively controlled by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English.
As the Karachi artist Naiza Khan once put it, the sea is actually more solid than the land bordering it. Civilizations come and go on the shore, but the trade routes over the sea usually remain the same. The solid sea she calls it. Thus it doesn’t matter much who’s in control of places such as Kochi or Zanzibar, or which religion is predominant there: there will always be trade. And with trade comes some form of cultural exchange. Riyas and Bose, in setting up this Biennale, wanted to recall this cosmopolitan past, in this era of sectarian strife and nationalist retreat, which is also affecting India. And they wanted to provide this revamped cosmopolitan pride with appropriate contemporary identity; whence the idea of a Biennale. Art could celebrate these contemporary ties, linking in novel ways historical places that have somewhat grown apart over the last centuries.
Now what’s missing in this equation? Who was responsible for this growing apart, by imposing himself as a mediator? Yes, the Europeans. Or the West. What is striking is that both efforts to work on possible new identities, in India and the Gulf, no longer take as their main reference point the West.
Maybe the West is becoming dysfunctional, consumed by its struggle with its own demons: financial crisis, Islamic terrorism, the fear of cultural loss through immigration. Maybe it is simply on the decline in the long historic schedule of things, and is not anymore in a position to steer developments in India or the UAE. In any case some breathing space has emerged for interesting investigations linked to collective and personal identities in the global era.
It therefore seems likely that both the Khaleeji and the Indian artistic and cultural transformations will take place in increasing synergy. And that, like in the past, these regions will become closer connected not only by trade, but also by a shared culture.
Because already now India is the main trading partner of the UAE; while in the UAE almost 50% of the population is Indian. Dubai is in many cases the Eldorado of India (from Dongri to Dubai) while India is the essential source of fresh food, raw materials and industrial products for Dubai. True, with these economic exchange we see some measure of cultural exchange taking place: Emirati building techniques, architecture etc. used in India, Bollywood movies and Indian TV series being watched in the UAE. But so much more interesting exchange could take place through the arts.
So, to return to my original question: Is the Future of the Gulf’s Art Scene intertwined with India’s – my reply is: it should be. A lot of good can come of artistic exchange between both shores of the Arab Sea, because both are peculiarly dynamic, each in its own way. Both in India and in the UAE one can sense an effort to define a new, open approach towards foreign cultures that is not based on the European enlightenment’s universal values, but on the historical consciousness of a shared history. The main stimulant for these developments is a future-oriented openness. So let’s join forces. I believe a very fertile artistic terrain lies here for you students, working together with Indian artists and art professionals to develop these identities. Let’s hope the Kochi Muziris Biennale is just one of the first occasions to drive this exchange.