Beyond The Glitz.(Special Report)(Dubai)

Byline: Sameer Reddy

Forget shopping. An edgy alternative culture is springing up in Dubai.

The sunlight in Dubai is blinding, a layer of searing white that blankets the landscape, best encountered from behind deeply tinted glasses. It is the most notable natural feature in an almost entirely man-made environment, one of the few things in this tiny, but technologically advanced emirate that cannot be controlled. In the glare, differences between the newly erected towers are obscured-- postmodern, ultramodern, 50, 70 or 100 stories--and the net effect is one of disorientation. You determine your position in relation to the hotel that is shaped like a giant sail, or the world's tallest tower, or the indoor ski slope complete with artificial snow. A modern-day pleasure kingdom, Dubai has mortgaged its past in exchange for freehold ownership of its future.

Over the past decade the Emirate has moved at warp speed, with fantastical project after project competing for headline space around the world. Upcoming developments include Falcon City, a mixed-use mega-property that re-creates some of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, and the Snowdome, which promotional materials describe as "a gigantic indoor ski dome project that will comprise a ski dome, residential towers, hotels, a shopping mall, restaurants, coffee shops and other retail outlets." Many developments are owned in full or part by the government, and no idea is too expensive--or ridiculous--to pursue so long as there are 240,000 barrels of oil being pumped per day. Like New York City in the 1980s, the seemingly limitless flow of capital encourages not-so-subtle expressions of wealth, from magnums of fine champagne guzzled in nightclubs to a crazy concentration of designer boutiques. After a few days, the in-your-face prosperity can begin to feel claustrophobic, like being trapped inside an uncomfortably sunny, status-obsessed bubble.

Beneath the surface, however, there is a growing community of influential individuals whose idea of progress is not defined by the notion that biggest always means best. And they are staking out a parallel universe of hip, understated cultural space that is less flashy and far more personalized. Their ranks draw from young Emiratis and Arab expats with a global outlook--thanks to foreign educations, ex- travel and high-speed Internet connections--as well as Westerners who have carved out niches in media, fashion and design in the burgeoning economy. Though their numbers are small, they are increasingly making their creative mark on an ever-evolving cultural scene. The term "underground" doesn't apply to their efforts in the fields of art, retail and media, because they aren't seen in opposition to anything else, nor are they particularly inaccessible to the public. But they do present an increasingly welcome alternative to Dubai's better-known options.

The country's art market has already attracted considerable attention, with auction houses such as Christie's and Bonham's organizing highly publicized sales of contemporary Middle Eastern art. Now the local gallery scene is developing as well, promoting up-and-coming local artists and providing an accessible way for collectors looking to get in on the action. The XVA gallery, brainchild of Mona Hauser, has been open since 2003, operating in one of the most interesting parts of Dubai, Bastikya, a historic district home to many restored traditional buildings. Paintings are popular, but photography, sculpture, mixed-media and even challenging installation pieces are attracting interest. "Since I arrived in 1993 everything about Dubai has experienced amazing strides of development and evolution," says Hauser. "Dubai's growth brings more artists, more need for art, more art dealers, more movement of art in and out of the region. It makes for a whirlwind effect." Business must be going well; XVA now ...