UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Official Country Name UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Languages ARABIC
Population 9,701,315
Median Age 37.2
GDP Per Capita US $68,600
Source: CIA World Factbook
Total Value of Art Exported (UN Comtrade Database 2018) US $726,460,379
Arts Funding (Entertainment, Culture and Religion) US $442,880,000
Schools with Art Programs (University Level) 4
Student Enrollment N/A
Source: Ministry of Finance, AAP (non-official)
Museums Exhibiting Contemporary Art 8
Contemporary Art Galleries (Commercial) 39
Contemporary Art Spaces (Nonprofit) 12
Art Foundations (NGO + Private) 14
Source: AAP (non-official)
An economic and cultural meeting point between South Asia, Africa, and West Asia, the United Arab Emirates has experienced massive urban development in the past 30 years. Since the 2000s, the UAE has focused on becoming a financial and touristic destination, with an expanding culture infrastructure. The two largest emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, compete for the title of cultural capital. Oil-rich Abu Dhabi is actively building museums on Saadiyat Island, which, when completed, will be a complex of museums, universities, as well as luxury resorts. Driven by real estate and tourism, Dubai houses the majority of the UAE’s galleries and auction houses. With several universities, heritage and art museums, and a 26-year-old biennial, Sharjah is traditionally the intellectual center of the UAE.
The , overseen by Abu Dhabi’s , is the capital emirate’s ambitious master plan. Since opening in November 2017, the has welcomed more than two million visitors to its canopy-shaded galleries designed by
