How one Emirati wants to make Art International in Istanbul one of the best fairs in the world

“It has got a long way to go, but I would like the fair to be within the top five,” she says. “Istanbul is one of the most-visited cities in the world [fifth, according to Condé Nast Traveller].

Dyala Nusseibeh, the event’s director. Courtesy Art International Istanbul
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Dyala Nusseibeh concedes that there is an art fair “almost every week in the world”. The competition is, therefore, fierce, but that has not prevented the director of the Art International fair in Istanbul – the third edition of which was held at the weekend – from aiming to be among “the top five that people go to”.

It is a lofty goal. What makes her aspirations even more impressive is the fact that Art International is barely three years old and its 25,000 visitors are still a long way from the 75,000 drawn to Art Basel in Switzerland every year or the 50,000 who flock to Art Basel Miami.

Nor is it as established as Frieze in London, the 42-year-old Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain in Paris nor The European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht.

But if there is one thing Art International’s Emirati director has in spades, it is confidence, linked to the conviction that ­Turkey’s heritage and cosmopolitan outlook make it a natural draw for collectors from East and West.

"It has got a long way to go, but I would like the fair to be within the top five," she says. "Istanbul is one of the most-visited cities in the world [fifth, according to Condé Nast Traveller].

“It has this immense ­history and appeal for people, a long-standing culture and heritage and amazing archaeological sites.

“There is a very sophisticated art scene and a level of philanthropy in the arts that is not replicated elsewhere.”

Art International, which will run alongside the Istanbul Biennial this year, has expanded from 67 galleries in 2013 to 88 this year, of which only 13 are Turkish, keeping in line with Nusseibeh’s aim to create a fair of international standing.

Among the new exhibitors are Victoria Miro from London, ­Sakshi Gallery from Mumbai and Aicon from New York, as well as galleries with an established Middle Eastern presence, including Leila Heller, Pearl Lam and Kukje Gallery. Nusseibeh does not want the fair to grow beyond 100 galleries, however.

“It is really about the quality of the presentations and what the galleries are showing,” she says. “Are they showing work that is new and interesting and is there a sense of discovery?”

Her passion for art was nurtured by growing up in a household where art and culture were part of the fabric of everyday life.

Her Palestinian-born father Zaki was Sheikh Zayed’s adviser and interpreter, and has been a translator and adviser to leaders of the UAE since 1968. A renowned collector and patron of the arts, he coached his three children to appreciate art and literature from a young age.

Nusseibeh recalls holidays in France where the family would “jump in a car, drive to Florence, go around the Uffizi [Gallery], then make our way to Rome. We had wonderful summers”.

Her extracurricular education sometimes got her into trouble. She recalls her father, regaling her with Shakespearean tales on the drive to school, changing the ending to Romeo and Juliet when she became teary-eyed. "When I was studying the play at 16, I said: 'Hang on, there's an older, original text in which they both live.' Such was my confidence in the authority of my father," she says.

Growing up, she was surrounded by art. Her father first began collecting orientalist painters, such as David Roberts, before starting to focus on Middle-­Eastern contemporary art about 12 years ago.

It stood her in good stead when, as an anthropology graduate, she decided to study for a master’s in art history with Christie’s auction house in 2005. A job as head of education at the Saatchi Gallery in London followed, before she was approached four years ago to gauge whether there was a market for an international art fair in Istanbul.

The landscape then was very different to what it is now: her initial research preceded the Taksim Square protests, Turkey’s struggles to defend its borders against ISIL and its battles with Kurdish fighters.

Will that political turmoil deter visitors from coming? And is the conflict reflected in the artwork produced? Nusseibeh says despite some concerns, visitors to the city’s salubrious quarters are a long way from the conflict zones.

“For contemporary artists, there is so much to respond to in terms of the political climate,” she adds. “Art has always been one of the strongest platforms for political expression.”

• For more information, visit www.artinternational-istanbul.com

artslife@thantional.ae