ArtDayMe :  The future of the Middle East art market cannot be measured solely by the number of exhibitions, auction turnover, the arrival of new collectors, or the expansion of museums.

The fundamental question is: Who builds lasting connections between artistic talent, capital, cultural credibility, and market demand?

The history of art demonstrates that major markets require more than outstanding artists. They also depend on other decisive players: individuals who have cultivated audiences for art, built trust, established the value of artworks, and developed artists’ careers over the long term.

Zohreh Mehraban, Founder and Director of MAAD Gallery, believes that if the Middle East is to move beyond fragmented growth and establish a more influential position in the global art market, it needs professional market makers more than ever. These are individuals who view art not merely as a commodity to be bought and sold, but as a field shaped by knowledge, credibility, capital, networks, and cultural responsibility.

_The Market Maker: Beyond the Dealer and the Intermediary

The history of the global art market offers clear examples of how market makers have influenced the destinies of artists and artistic movements, particularly from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day. From Paul Durand-Ruel, who consistently supported the Impressionists, and Ambroise Vollard, who discovered and championed new artists and movements, to Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, who supported Cubism, and Leo Castelli, who developed an international network for contemporary art, the list extends to more recent influential figures such as Charles Saatchi and Larry Gagosian.

It is particularly inspiring that Saatchi, whose family roots lie in Baghdad, at the heart of the Middle East, went on to establish a prominent position on the international contemporary art scene.

These examples demonstrate that building a market requires activities extending far beyond the sale of an individual artwork.

These figures did not simply wait for the market to decide which artists mattered. They helped shape taste, develop relationships with collectors, introduce artistic movements, and establish professional credibility. Each operated within a different historical and economic context, but their experiences share a common lesson: the art market grows when informed and committed players plan for its future.

Reflecting on the significance of this historical experience, Zohreh Mehraban says:

“Professional market-making means building a long-term relationship between the artist, the artwork, the collector, and the market. Selling an artwork may represent a short-term success, but establishing an artist’s credibility and building lasting trust among market participants is a time-consuming process that requires knowledge and planning.”

_ The Middle East: A Major Opportunity, an Even Greater Responsibility

Several countries across the region have created new opportunities for the art market through the development of cultural infrastructure, the organization of international events, the establishment and expansion of museums, and the attraction of collectors. Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Tehran, Riyadh, and AlUla can all play a role in developing a broader network of regional and international artistic connections.

However, in the view of MAAD Gallery’s director, infrastructure and capital alone do not constitute a mature art market. A professional market requires an interconnected network of galleries, artists, art advisers, collectors, auction houses, museums, researchers, and specialist media outlets. Within such a network, every participant must understand their responsibilities and contribute to the growth of other sectors.

Zohreh Mehraban adds:

“The Middle East should not become merely a destination for purchasing artworks or hosting high-profile events. The region must also develop the capacity to discover and promote artists, build significant collections, produce art knowledge, and contribute to shaping the global narrative of art.”

Achieving this goal requires artistic centres across the region to move beyond competing solely to attract audiences and investment. Exhibition partnerships, collection exchanges, the mutual promotion of artists, and the development of relationships among collectors from different countries can help establish a regional art market. In such a market, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh, and Tehran would no longer function as isolated islands, but as interconnected hubs within a network of professional opportunities and collaboration.

_Trust: The Invisible Infrastructure of the Art Market

One of the most important lessons in the history of the art market is the role of trust in creating lasting value. Trust does not emerge solely from a gallery’s reputation or an auction house’s name. It is built through a combination of professional practices, from understanding the artwork and the artist to maintaining records, documenting provenance, verifying authenticity, ensuring transactional transparency, and sustaining relationships with collectors.

According to Zohreh Mehraban, as the Middle East art market expands, the need to strengthen this underlying infrastructure becomes increasingly important. Collectors must be able to obtain reliable information about an artwork’s provenance, ownership status, exhibition history, and supporting documentation. Artists, in turn, need systems that record their professional development and allow their works to be evaluated within their historical and artistic contexts.

The director of MAAD Gallery emphasizes that professional market-making should not be confused with artificially inflating prices or generating short-lived excitement. Lasting value emerges when an artist’s credibility, the quality of the work, professional track records, and buyers’ confidence are strengthened over time. In such a market, the interests of artists and collectors do not necessarily stand in opposition; rather, they can align within a professional, long-term relationship.

-Artists, Collectors, and the Market: Three Pillars of a Lasting Relationship

A professional market maker must be able to connect the differing needs of artists and collectors. Artists need exhibition opportunities, thoughtful representation, access to new audiences, and the means to sustain their practice. Collectors, meanwhile, value informed guidance, reliable information, confidence in authenticity, and a clear framework for making decisions about acquisitions.

Such relationships cannot mature through occasional sales alone. Exhibition planning, strategic media management, research-based content, catalogue publishing, the creation of documented records for artworks, and the introduction of artists to professional networks can all help establish more enduring connections.

Drawing on her experience of directing MAAD Gallery, Zohreh Mehraban emphasizes the importance of this relationship:

“The art market can achieve genuine growth when artists are not visible only during exhibitions and relationships with collectors are not reduced to individual transactions. Sustained visibility, knowledge, and trust are what make it possible to build a lasting professional career.”

Across the Middle East, this approach is particularly important for emerging artists and artistic movements that have yet to gain widespread recognition in the international market.

A market maker must be able to connect artistic potential with economic opportunity without reducing an artist’s value to the selling price of a single work.

- From National Markets to a Regional Ecosystem

One of the key requirements for the future of art in the Middle East is to connect national markets with international opportunities. This cannot be achieved simply by participating in art fairs or selling works to international collectors. It requires an understanding of professional standards, sustained networking, rigorous documentation, multilingual content, and the ability to present the region’s art within a global dialogue.

According to Zohreh Mehraban, specialist media, researchers, and cultural institutions also play a decisive role in this process. Without reliable information, professional criticism, and systematic records of artistic activity, the art market loses part of its collective memory. Documenting exhibitions, introducing artistic movements, and maintaining artists’ records can contribute not only to cultural preservation but also to greater market awareness and trust.

Within this broader vision, MAAD Gallery can be understood as part of an expanding network of interaction among artists, collectors, and cultural institutions. The purpose of such a network extends beyond presenting artworks to developing knowledge and establishing lasting professional connections.

---Zohreh Mehraban: The Market Must Be Built, Not Simply Waited For

The experience of the great market makers in art history demonstrates that influential markets have emerged through informed decisions, professional relationships, and sustained investment in artists’ credibility. These lessons are relevant to the Middle East, provided that historical experience is adapted to the region’s cultural, economic, and social realities.

Zohreh Mehraban, Founder and Director of MAAD Gallery, believes that the future of art in the Middle East depends on the ability of its participants to build a professional ecosystem—one in which artists have opportunities to develop, collectors can make informed decisions with confidence, galleries can pursue long-term strategies, and cultural institutions and media outlets contribute to documenting and advancing this process.

Under these conditions, the success of the art market should be measured not only by transaction volumes, but also by the number of artists who establish sustainable careers, the collections that become significant cultural resources, and the professional relationships that endure beyond a single exhibition or sales season.

For Middle Eastern art to secure a lasting position in the global market, it needs market makers capable of connecting capital with culture, artists with collectors, and local potential with international networks.

This is the lesson that the history of the art market offers the region: a major art market is not simply a place where artworks are traded. It is an ecosystem that must be built through knowledge, trust, and a clear vision for the future.