In its effort to decode the intersection between art, culture and technology, ArtBAB 2019 will host an impressive array of over 40 speakers from 20 countries across the globe through a series of panel discussions, debates and interviews.
These international speakers include the CEO of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCD), the Managing Director of the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre for Kuwait National Cultural District, the Director of the National Museum of Singapore, the Director of Change Management at London’s University of the Arts, the President EMERI for Christie’s, the Chairman & Co-Founder of MutualArt, as well as the Founder & CEO of Artory, and the Chairman of the Board of TEFAF. The full talks programme and more information on all the speakers is available.
The programme includes several discussions around the impact of technology and how it is disrupting the art economy. BlockchainHub from Berlin will give an overview of Blockchain and how the art world can beneﬁt from it. Also explored will be issues around Blockchain Art Provenance, AI and Artistic Creation, AI and Applied Science and the concept of VR as a game changer for the arts. The use of AI Innovations for Attribution, Augmented Creativity and Forecasting Art Trends will be uncovered with Verisart London, RunwayML New York, and Thread Genius, an AI SaaS startup based in New York, which was acquired by Sotheby’s in early 2018.
ArtBAB will also be hosting a debate on Art & Islamic Finance between Deloitte Art & Finance and Deloitte ME Islamic Finance and Knowledge Centre (IFKC). Other talks will discuss arts philanthropy and arts patronage to empower cultural development in the Arab World, the use of big data and analytics in helping collectors better manage liquidity, risk and volatility, and the growth of cultural and educational districts in building a creative economy.
The fair will also see the return of BAB, the platform to showcase Bahraini artists which this year has attracted more than 100 applicants. Artists will be selected by a curatorial panel consisting of Amal Khalaf (Projects Curator, Serpentine Galleries, London), Nathalie Anglès (Co-founder and Executive Director of Residency Unlimited, New York), Rebecca Anne Proctor (Editor-in-Chief, Harper’s Bazaar Art Arabia) and Snejana Krasteva (Curator, Garage Museum, Moscow).
ArtBAB 2019 will also redefine Bahrain’s rich crafts heritage through a contemporary design exhibit. Visitors can view large modern installations of Bahraini crafts and explore contemporary Bahraini crafts that will present Bahrain as a country which is open to modern thought, without losing the essence of its timeless traditions. This ‘Artisans Across Borders’ initiative will open new creative channels, making the arts and crafts relevant in the new millennium. The project will be headlined by acclaimed Indian fashion designer JJ Valaya, who will work closely with the Bahraini craftspeople.