Hala Badri, Dubai Culture DG, speaks at London Art Biennale on art scene
- Last updated: July 28, 2025 | 11:19
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
Dubai’s creative spirit took the spotlight at the London Art Biennale (LAB, July 16-20) as Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), delivered a keynote address reflecting on the city’s transformation into a global centre for the arts. She spoke about Dubai’s innovative approach to cultural policy, noting how public art, a vibrant programme of exhibitions and supportive frameworks, is helping shape a dynamic ecosystem for emerging talent.
Hosted at the historic Chelsea Old Town Hall, this year’s Biennale brought together 350 artists from 60 countries for a museum-quality showcase of contemporary artwork. The event provided a space for artistic dialogue, attracting practitioners, collectors, and visitors from around the world. With UAE-based contributors among the participants, it strengthened the nation’s cultural ties worldwide and encouraged meaningful exchange between the Gulf and the wider global creative community.
In her address, Hala Badri highlighted the momentum behind Dubai’s growing arts scene, underlining Dubai Culture’s strong support for both homegrown talent and international collaboration. “We aspire to make creativity part of the everyday experience — to transform the entire city into a living canvas where expression and imagination are not confined to galleries, but encountered everywhere,” she said. She also pointed to recent milestones, such as the introduction of the Dubai Cultural Grant and the long-term cultural visa, as well as the UAE’s emergence as a sought-after venue for major international events.
During the Biennale, she toured the exhibition with Aarien Areti, Deputy Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, and Peter Gagliardi, Director at Gagliardi Gallery and a member of the Biennale’s curatorial team. While also in London, she joined a guided tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum Storehouse, led by Isabella Valentini, City & Partnerships Officer at the World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF), exploring East Bank with Tamsin Ace, Director of East Bank, where she visited Sadler’s Wells East, followed a public art trail, and attended student showcases by the London College of Fashion (LCF).
LAB is a museum level award exhibition curated by the International Confederation of Art Critics (ICAC), the Chianciano Art Museum and Gagliardi Gallery. The show is not theme based; so all artistic movements and styles are presented. The focus is on painting, works on paper, sculpture, applied arts and digital art, professionally curated to give viewers and collectors an exciting yet coherent experience, brought together in the iconic Chelsea Old Town Hall. Galleries, critics and clients are able to view and appreciate artworks from all over the world, from the UK to the USA, China to South Africa, and from Norway to Italy, with different cultures, styles, ideas and artistic expressions on view that represent the art world in its global entirety. London galleries are regularly invited to see the Biennale.
It is LAB’s tradition to give help to people in need. Over the years, tens of thousands of pounds have been raised and donated to Rotary International’s ‘End Polio Now’ Charity, London’s Air Ambulance and Age UK, among others. ICAC is an organisation that brings together professionals with expertise in art history, curatorial studies, and related fields. It aims to promote art criticism, ensure ethical and professional standards for art critics, facilitate international communication and exchange, and contribute to the understanding of diverse cultures within the art world. It offers services such as curatorial support, graphic design and catalogue realisation, for art events and publications.
The Chianciano Art Museum houses a series of collections ranging from Asian art to contemporary art. Approximately a thousand works of art are on display. The museum houses works by artists like Salvador Dalí, Mario Schifano, Frances Turner, Brian Willsher, Tom Nash, Damien Hirst, and Albert Louden; drawings from Guercino to Tiepolo, Munch, Magritte, and Guttuso; historic works from royal collections and etchings and engravings by great masters like Dürer and Rembrandt.
Since its inception, the Gagliardi Gallery has been promoting innovation and tradition in the contemporary art scene. It has been involved in organising significant exhibitions not just locally, but internationally, partnering with institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum. The collaborations have helped bring diverse artistic expressions to a broader audience, enhancing the cultural landscape of London and beyond.
Founded by Roberto Gagliardi, the Gagliardi Gallery grew from the shared dreams of Roberto, hailing from Italy, and Marie, originally from Sweden; the couple found a common passion in the world of art, which led them to establish the Gagliardi Gallery in the heart of London’s prestigious Chelsea district. The gallery extends its influence beyond conventional gallery bounds, by orchestrating major art events like the London Art Biennale and the Chianciano Art Biennale. The prestigious events, held in collaboration with the Chianciano Art Museum in Tuscany, Italy, gather talent from around the globe, offering artists a platform to showcase their work and engage with the international art community. The Gagliardi Family created the Chianciano Art Museum to house their collections.
Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) enables and develops the cultural and creative sectors in the emirate as the custodian entity, helping the emirate to define it in both local and global contexts. It manages five of the city’s notable heritage monuments, six museums, and eight branches of Dubai Public Libraries.