Art Dubai appoints former journalist Myrna Ayad as fair director

The Art Dubai board

Art Dubai has appointed Myrna Ayad to its senior management team in the role of fair director. She will take up her post on 1 May this year and start working on the eleventh event alongside VIP relations director Lela Csáky and international director Pablo del Val.

The current director of Art Dubai, Antonia Carver, has been appointed the first Art Jameel director and will oversee the development of the arts foundation. Carver will remain a close advisor to Art Dubai and will serve on the fair’s board.

Ayad will be responsible for developing Art Dubai’s programme and the fair’s relationships with collectors, institutions and partners, boosting Art Dubai’s position within the art world and with investors. Working with Lela Csáky, Pablo del Val and the Art Dubai team, Ayad will nurture the strong partnerships the fair has with leading local and international galleries.

Ayad is an independent arts writer, editor and consultant who has been based in the UAE for over thirty years. She has written for publications including The New York Times, The Art Newspaper, Artsy, Art Forum, Artnet and The National among others. She was also the editor of Middle East arts magazine Canvas for eight years until 2015.

She said: “I’m overjoyed to be joining Art Dubai which – thanks to the ambitions of Antonia and the team – has become the world’s foremost platform for the art communities of the Middle East and South Asia. Having attended and worked with the fair since 2007, I’m excited by the opportunity to work with the team to build on this success.”

Carver said: “There has never been such a palpable engagement from the global arts community in the work being produced by artists emerging and established in the Middle East and South Asia – and we’re really proud of the role played by Art Dubai in this process.”