Dubai (AFP)
Van Gogh in the heart of one of the largest shopping centers in the world: the French company Culturespaces, specializing in 2.0 exhibitions, will open a digital art center in Dubai in July, the emirate having become a hotspot of international tourism during the pandemic.
Against a background of classical music and soul, works by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh are displayed in large size on the floor and walls of a dark room, offering an "immersive" experience to visitors, in the style of the Atelier of the Lights of Paris.
"Our mission is to make art accessible to everyone, to be able to share this new way of discovering art with as many people as possible," Catherine Oriol, director of the future art center, told AFP. Infinity of Lights, at the Dubai Mall.
The company behind this project, Culturespaces, has opened several digital art centers in France, South Korea and is preparing to launch one in New York in 2022.
According to Oriol, Dubai was chosen as an international "hub", between millions of international visitors and expatriates representing 90% of the population of the emirate.
"We hope in the future to be able to create new exhibitions related to the region, calligraphy, poetry", assured Ms. Oriol.
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"For us it is very important to be able to connect our site with the country", she added.
With little oil and the Gulf's most diverse economy, Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, has relied heavily on tourism and entertainment in recent years.
Dubai is organizing the World Expo from October 2021, postponed last year due to the health crisis.
The emirate was one of the first tourist destinations to open its doors to international visitors in July 2020, in the midst of a pandemic.
The city-state, known for its gigantic skyscrapers and artificial islands, received around 16 million visitors per year before the health crisis.
© 2021 AFP