Is it possible to buy original art at a reasonable price in Dubai? A new initiative aims to make it happen. Karen Ann Monsy investigates.

On a hot May Thursday evening in Dubai’s industrial area, art gallery Jam Jar buzzed with activity. Artists who had never met one another before came together for Sketch, an initiative by design studio Fn to bring them together with art buyers in a social but creative atmosphere.

With music blasting out of the speakers, artists hunched over tables and went to work.

They had four hours to sketch and then sell their work. Sketch was inspired by similar art social events in New York, and the night aims to create a place where artists and art buyers can mix in informal surroundings. For Dh30, professional and amateur artists are provided with snacks, supplies and the space to work. Sheikha Wafa Hasher Al Maktoum, the founder of Fn, says it’s difficult for artists to get picked up by galleries right now. “You always start from pencil and paper. An event like this helps to promote them.”

“It’s nothing too elaborate,” she says, gesturing to the makeshift walls. “The pictures are not framed, nothing. It’s just a base from where they can begin. All profits go to the artists, as a direct transaction between them and the buyer.”

Dressed casually in t-shirts, jeans, local dress and paint-splattered aprons, the artists milled about the gallery, thinking, talking or just looking at others at work.

The work varied greatly in concept, technique and style. One reading “You can buy Stephan’s picture BUT you can’t buy Stephan!” attempted to use humour.

Several life-like portraits along the wall were all signed by the same left hand. Amin Fara, the owner of the hand, lounged comfortably on a chair by the wall.

With a steady look of concentration crossing his features, he produced another drawing. Using a photo taken off a mobile phone, Fara sketched the portrait of a young lady. It takes him just 45 minutes, but he says he has not had any formal training.

Nivedita Saha is working alongside Fara. A full time artist, she describes herself as “new to the market,” and says she tries to “keep it real”. If her work didn’t show her profession to “love working with a colourful palette,” the brilliant hues on her kurta and the tiny multi-coloured streaks of hot pink, red and yellow in her hair did.

Saha generally uses what she calls ‘mutants’ for themes in her works. “I belong to India, moved to Saudi and now reside in Dubai. Each time I shed a skin and put on another. Likewise, each of us goes through changes every day. That’s what my work is about.”

When she is asked what appeal an event such as Sketch has for her, she quickly replies “Energy! It has a young crowd, which is the face of tomorrow. It’s very important for the new generation of the Middle East to believe in arts. Back home, we’ve been taught to think of art in a particular way.

“But the art movement in Dubai has just begun and it’s so exciting to be a part of it. Two years ago, none of this was here. Everyone seems to be very active, very alive… and I think it’s fantastic.”

The initial plan for Sketch was for artwork to be sold for between Dh50 and Dh500 after 10 pm, but many of the paintings were moving off the walls much earlier,  a testament to the speed of the artists and the hunger of the art buyers.

One such buyer, a self-proclaimed “100 per cent art lover” Khalil Abdulwahid bought three paintings before the night was over, but he shies away from being called a collector.

“I see a lot of things I love, but I won’t go around buying them! However, if I do find something highly interesting and can build a link between the artwork and myself, I’d certainly buy it.”

Abdulwahid, who works at Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, says the pieces are a great attraction for new art buyers.

“All the works here are priced so low. So not only is it fun for the artists, but the people can buy them at affordable prices too.”

For the majority of Dubai residents events such as Sketch not only allow them to buy original art at reasonable prices, but to watch artists create the work in real time.