The domestic arts scene in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has recently experienced a multi-billion dollar growth spurt. For the global art community, Millennials and Generation Z are two generations that have grown up with rapid urbanization and their potential remains untapped. This is the niche of Nadine Khoury, a Dubai-based collector, curator and art consultant whose art consultancy Nasij transforms eager Khaleeji professionals into experienced collectors in her own style: passionate, patient, and appreciative of art as the best record of humanity. Khoury, a Cypress-born, Western-educated millennial herself, founded Young Collectors Circle in 2023, a business that offers followers the opportunity to connect with local art on their own terms. Past events have included studio visits, dinners with renowned collectors and group outings to exhibition openings in and around Dubai. To learn more about young collector circles and the future of collecting in the Bay Area, ARTnews spoke with Khoury about planning, partnerships and her hopeful place in the burgeoning cultural landscape.
ARTnews: How did the Young Collectors Circle start?
Nadine Khoury: It all started with my friends and the group around me: young professionals working in different fields. They didn’t really understand art other than that I worked in it and wanted to get them involved. Since then, it has grown through word of mouth and online. I post a lot of content on social media – short, simple, and something that captures the attention of people today. Attendees said they learned about the young collector community on Instagram.
Are there any institutions in the Bay Area that inspired YCC?
There is nothing on the market for young collectors and young audiences to learn more about art. Recently, the 1833 Club and the art scene have changed that. These are membership-based, though – mine are not. Mine was like a free-for-all. I’ve been thinking about setting up a tiered membership for a younger collector circle, but I haven’t launched it yet. I was hesitant because I felt like I had created this safe space.
What was your personal experience in getting into YCC?
[From 2015 to 2017] I work at Green Art Gallery in Dubai. A few years later, I realized I was seeing the same collectors coming in to buy art. I took a step back and realized that this was because people my age were not educated on the importance of collecting or its cultural significance. In the UAE you can meet young people from all backgrounds who can collect and have great potential to be involved in the arts.
How did you come up with the idea for the Young Collectors Circle?
From the beginning, I wanted to break down the barriers that make art a luxury product. I’ve heard people say they were afraid to attend events because they didn’t know anything about art. The programs I organize include visits to artists’ studios or conversations with gallerists. The first iteration was at Tabari Artspace in Dubai, with an exhibition by Lebanese artist Chafa Ghaddar. She visited the exhibition and had a discussion about her growth as an artist. We also took an in-depth look at how each emirate caters to the UAE’s art market. We talked about Sharjah; Abu Dhabi is a kind of international space; Dubai is mainly commercial galleries and some artist studios. This is great, but also [made for] Learning curve: This turned into a lecture, but I hope people get to know each other and become more friendly.
How do you create this friendly environment?
I limit attendance to 15 people. I don’t want people to just have an art buddy to attend events with, but [instead] Breaking down barriers between collectors, artists and gallerists. In later circles, I collaborated with a supper club and hosted an event in an old family house that two brothers had converted into a gallery and artist studio, a place called Bayt AlMamzar near Sharjah. Between each course we go to the studio. These questions are really open-ended—people are curious. A few months later, someone in that circle messaged me and sent me photos of the art he had purchased because he was so inspired. A focus on education can help young collectors escape the notion that art can only be found in galleries. In another iteration, I would like to broaden their horizons through the Atasi Foundation, a [nonprofit] Specializing in Syrian art in Dubai. They had an exhibition at a place called the Foundry, so we went and they explained to the circle what the foundation does. This will be new to many people as the artwork is not for sale. The questions raised are interesting.
What types of problems arise?
A lot of it has to do with how the foundation is growing its collection. Or the structure of the foundation itself: who does the research? Where did they learn art? The flow of information began to broaden collectors’ horizons. Last spring, during Ramadan, I did a series where we caught local traditional Karak Chai and visited artist studios. The fact that you can visit artists’ studios – or that we have them – is not promoted here.
You can also meet more famous collectors through YCC.
We do this often. I worked with a local supper club and a collector who had a huge collection in Dubai called “Yes Collection” [by the Al Sidaoui family]. They have two villas connected by a garden. We had a supper club and I put an icebreaker at everyone’s seat about living with art in your home. I think there’s a shame when it comes to the fine line between interior design and art. This is another barrier I’m trying to break down.
What are your thoughts on the first Art Basel Qatar planned for next year?
I have a love-hate relationship with the idea of Art Basel Qatar. I would like to see younger, locally developed satellite fairs pop up in the area. It would be nice to see new fairs supporting young galleries, showcasing artists early in their careers and making their work more affordable for young collectors. I feel like Art Basel only touches on one specific area. At the same time, I don’t think we should completely hate this growth because it is still growth within the Gulf art market and the wider Middle East market.
There is a long tradition of young people in the Arab world going to the West to study, and many of them stay there. But now, in Saudi Arabia for example, many are returning to work in the growing art world.
As someone who came here ten years ago, I think it’s a great thing to see how small the art world is. Opportunities were very limited back then. Now there are young people who have just returned from London or the United States asking: “Where can we go?” For many years, we Arab art professionals have remained in the West. I hope that institutions, whether it’s the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Art Basel Qatar or galleries in Dubai, will provide opportunities for young Arab professionals with huge potential for growth.
Are there other Gulf art scenes you would like to foster and help connect with the Western art world?
Bahrain – 100%. I have a special connection to it, partly because I lived there and also because of the conversations I have now with people there. There is a wonderful man named Bader AlSaad who provides arts and cultural consultation and curates temporary exhibitions. We often talk about the lack of funding for arts and culture in Bahrain, when there are so many great artists in Bahrain. There is investment, but unfortunately not to the level of Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Bahrain has been put on the back burner, even though the island is in the midst of all the great potential we’ve been talking about.
At a recent exhibition on Gulf Modernism at the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, curators stressed that the exhibition would not have been possible without loans from private collectors. How do you talk to young collectors about the prospect of institutional lending?
I organized an exhibition in Bahrain in collaboration with Alserkal Avenue, the Palestinian Museum and the Barjeel Art Foundation. I asked local collectors to lend artworks and this was one of the main points I focused on during a talk I gave. When you collect art, you are also collecting a part of history. If you take your collection out of the house, it becomes part of a larger conversation. Older collectors know this, but younger collectors—and I don’t mean young in age—need to understand how their collections can be part of a show like this one at NYU.
Are the collectors you work with open to having this conversation?
It was a good reception, although it was a little strange at first – like, “How could you give up a piece and go somewhere else?” But assuming you buy a piece of art from a politically unstable area, you know you’re saving that piece of art from destruction. This purchase keeps the identity and history of the artist alive with us. Their story can be told around the world through exhibitions and museums, ensuring it remains alive. this is a beautiful message
