Myrna Ayad has announced plans to leave her position as director of Art Dubai, ArtAsiaPacific reports. Ayad, who has spent two years directing the art fair, will be leaving to pursue her own projects starting with an art consultancy. As director of Art Dubai, Ayad succeeded the current director of the non-profit organisation Art Jameel, Antonia Carver, where she had a direct impact on the fair’s Modern section, encouraging greater public interest and organising the Art Dubai Modern Symposium – a series of talks and presentations focusing on ‘the lives, works and cultural impact of important 20th century artists of the region’. Prior to joining the fair, Ayad was editor-in-chief of the art and culture magazine Canvas and plans to return to publishing as part of her consultancy work.
Upon news of her departure, Benedict Floyd (chief executive of the Art Dubai Group) has said in a statement: ‘We are grateful to Myrna for her contribution as a director of the fair and, in particular, she was pivotal in the success of the Art Dubai Modern Symposium, which she launched whilst at the fair. We wish her all the best in her professional and personal endeavors.’
For the 2019 edition of Art Dubai, the Modern and Contemporary sections will be merged, while a new section called ‘Bawwaba’ will present works by artists from the Middle East, Africa, Central and South Asia, and Latin America.
Details of the new director for Art Dubai will be released later this year.
6 July 2018
