Arabian Days and Caspian Nights - Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Baku in Azerbaijan

The University of Hong Kong Museum Society is pleased to present an exclusive tour to two of today’s most dynamic regions of contemporary art and architecture: the Arab Gulf states of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and the South Caucasus nation of Azerbaijan. This survey tour will be held in conjunction with programs specially arranged for our group at Art Dubai 2014.

Both the Arab Gulf states and Azerbaijan comprise of wealthy governing patrons who have conscientiously invested into growing the contemporary art scene in addition to having invited some of the world’s most renowned architects and designers to build an environment of amazing structures. In a seven day period, our group will meet key players in Doha, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, including private art collectors, scholars, curators and artists, as well as see first rate art, architecture and design. We will be visiting the homes of private collectors as well as the regions’ highly acclaimed museums.

Similarly our four day visit to Azerbaijan, aptly labeled the Dubai of the Caucasus will consists of private visits to homes of local collectors and artist studios in addition to enjoying an overview of world architectural masterpiece structures within Baku. We will make time to visit the UNESCO World Heritage sites of the old walled city of Baku with the Shirvanshah’s Palace and Maiden Tower as well as tour the oil fields outside of the city.

Our tour will correspond with Art Dubai, the leading international art fair in MENASA (Middle East, North African and South Asia), which over the past seven years has become a cornerstone of a booming, contemporary art community. In 2013, Art Dubai presented 75 specially selected galleries from 30 countries.