Anna Somers Cocks

Booksreview

How offsets on arms sales into Abu Dhabi have helped finance its Louvre

A French study of the Gulf museums sees them as the Versailles of the sheikhs—a step towards autocracy

'In Russia, either be brave or be silenced… there is no middle ground'

Russian art patron Igor Tsukanov has created a show at the Saatchi Gallery about artists who have risked protesting against conditions in Russia since 1991

Podcastsfeature

Abu Dhabi Focus podcast, episode three: how the UAE art scene became a force to be reckoned with

Art dealer Thaddaeus Ropac and curator Maya Allison tell us how the nation’s creative ambitions have blossomed. Plus: Silver Lion-winning musician and artist Hassan Khan on his Abu Dhabi Art performance

Podcastsfeature

Abu Dhabi Focus podcast, episode two: How Saudi artists are driving political change

As Abu Dhabi Art fair opens, we speak to the Saudi artists Manal Al Dowayan and Ahmed Mater. Plus: Iraq's Dia Azzawi on creating the Arab world's Guernica

Video: Abu Dhabi Art opens as the world watches

Is the UAE now the art capital of the Middle East?

Louvre Abu Dhabi embraces all religions and displays the complexity of the world’s mind

New museum's universal approach derives from the open-mindedness of the founder of the UAE

Podcastsfeature

Abu Dhabi Focus podcast, episode one: Louvre Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Art

With all eyes on Abu Dhabi this week, we speak to the architect Jean Nouvel on designing the Arab world's first universal museum. Plus: a preview of Abu Dhabi Art fair

Video: Will Louvre Abu Dhabi become famous as a new wonder of the world?

Not just a spectacular building, the museum is a treasure house of art arranged in a radical, intercultural manner

Podcastsfeature

Podcast episode eight: how hackers are attacking the art world

Galleries are losing huge sums to cybercrime, what makes them vulnerable? Plus: the dubious restoration along the Camino di Santiago.

Introducing Emirati Voices: a video series on Louvre Abu Dhabi

Emirati citizens talk about the museum's collection and global impact

Sponsored byAbu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority
Podcastsfeature

Podcast episode five: what's the story behind the $100m Leonardo?

What will happen when the only painting in private hands by the Renaissance master heads to auction? Plus: the New Museum's big new show on gender, and our literary editor talks 18th-century princesses

Join the orgy at Frieze Masters

Richard Artschwager's Triptych IV, Fucking Painting has a double meaning

Louvre Abu Dhabi aims to make up for failed education in the Middle East

Leading Emirati thinker, Zaki Nusseibeh, on why the UAE is more humanistic than its neighbours

Featuresfeature

Venice can’t manage its tourists—yet it’s encouraging more to come from China

The town council proposes digital monitoring and a charge to enter St Mark’s Square

Death of Russia’s 'most popular' artist, a pseudo-dissident, far-Right nationalist

Ilya Glazunov gained the backing of all Russia’s presidents from Khrushchev onwards

Portrait of the mystery man behind Castello di Rivoli’s £450m art loan

Federico Cerruti was extraordinary in his extreme ordinariness and austerity

Lavish show celebrates 70th anniversary of the fashion house that Christian Dior built

Musée des Arts Décoratifs dedicates main areas to collaboration with the House of Dior and the artistic directors who defined it

How departing director Perdita Hunt saved the Watts Gallery from near death

She led a seven-year, £10m project to restore the buildings, rehang the galleries and conserve the collection

Lavish show celebrates 70th anniversary of the fashion house that Christian Dior built

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris has curated a blockbuster exhibition with more than 400 dresses

Low total for Sotheby’s first African art sale (but what is “African” art?)

Highest prices for artists already in the international art system

Sharjah Biennial follows recipe of crops, earth, water and cooking

The curator Christine Tohme broadens the event’s potential audience by also taking it to Dakar, Istanbul, Ramallah and Beirut

Modernism gives Art Dubai sales a boost

Rediscovered work from the 20th century has new relevance today

What is the point of a biennial in the Middle East?

Social activist, art-centre founder Christine Tohmé explodes the concept with her Sharjah Biennial

Featuresfeature

The Antarctic Biennale: a crazy idea becomes reality

In little more than a year, the artists and scientists—and, crucially, the funds—have been gathered for a unique biennial. The journey begins this month

The 2017 Sharjah Biennial roots for crops, earth, water and cooking

Curator Christine Tohmé also takes it to Dakar, Istanbul, Ramallah and Beirut