DUBAI.- Welcoming a total of 81 galleries from 34 countries—with one-third of the participants based in the Middle East, one-third in Europe and one-third in the United States and Asia—the latest edition of Art Dubai is presented from Wednesday, 16 March through Saturday, 19 March 2011, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai. This year’s Art Dubai, the first organised under the leadership of Fair Director Antonia Carver, is also the most diverse and forward-looking to date for the Middle East’s largest contemporary art event. “Dubai has been a trading post and meeting point for South Asia, Iran, the Arab world and Africa for hundreds of years,” said Antonia Carver. “Over the past decade, Dubai has become the commercial art centre of the region and a city of ideas and entrepreneurship, providing hom