f the motto for London in the throes of WWII was “Keep Calm and Carry On” — the motto for Abu Dhabi in the 21st century must be: “Keep Crazy and Carried Away”.

Much has been written about the excesses of the art scene in Abu Dhabi over the last decade — so no need to repeat cliches regarding Star-chitect museums, the seduction, love affair and eventual bitter break up of Western art professionals and Abu Dhabi culture organizers. Not to mention more recent rapprochements and reconciliations.

Yet the question remains: Can Abu Dhabi (and by extension the Gulf in general) become a sane and solid location for the creation of art and for a market with a dedicated international collecting base?

If one looks at the lineup of interactive programming including “musicians, dancers, philosophers and architects”; the fantastic UAE pavilion, originally designed by Lord Norman Foster for the Shanghai Expo, one might think that Abu Dhabi’s definition of Fair, is closer to the Middle English definition of Feire – the 14th century word for: a religious festival, holiday akin to feast! — as opposed to the 21st century meaning of Fair: a meeting place for buyers and sellers.

However, Abu Dhabi Art, now in its fourth iteration, redeems itself, and more,  with a very serious line up of galleries, (tellingly with a 70% return rate from last year); the addition of seven new dealers hailing from Athens, Seoul, New York, Taiwan and London; and a showing of very serious and expensive artists ranging from  Contemporary Western stars including Rauschenberg, Kapoor, Koons, Serra, Calder and LeWitt.

These brand names are matched by an international “who’s who” of the best and most recent work of 21st century Middle Eastern and Western artists including, Marina Abramovic, Farhad Moshiri, Yayoi Kusama, Feng Mengbo, Wael Shawky, and Subodh Gupter.  And so, if you are here to buy, you will not be disappointed by the variety and quality of works on offer.

The calibre of the lecturers willing to travel to art fairs, also provides a clue to how seriously the Fair is taken on the global stage.  As this year’s Abu Dhabi panels include luminaries including Richard Armstrong of the Guggenheim, architect, Frank Gehry and Parisian contemporary art dealer, non pareil, Thaddeus Ropac, there can be no doubt that Abu Dhabi Art has arrived.

In addition to in-depth exploration of topics such as “Searching for the Centre of the Art World” and “Charting the Contemporary Art Scene in the UAE”,  a clever new “Art Interviews” section of swift and informal 15 minute Q&As has been added to the program, with a line-up including Adel Abidin, Leila Heller and Tina Kim. 

And finally, a panel presented by the Shaikha Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation will feature Alia Lootah, Dana Al Mazroui, Hamdan Al Shamsi and Maitha Demithan.

Let us not forget that this is Abu Dhabi, and so, for those who are more on the “browsing” side, and enjoy a bit of spectacle with their art, there will be a great deal to do in addition to writing checks on magnificent Saadiyat Island.

Last year over 4,000 children enjoyed the participatory Art Education program, and this year will not disappoint with a host of art-making easel areas where children can engage with “real live” artists; Arabic rock bank Autostrad will perform for the late-nighters on Thursday 8 November, and electronic art band, Noise of Art, on Friday November 9 — as part of Art Plaza Evenings.

The Sharjah Art Foundation is putting on four films originally commissioned for the Sharjah Biennial 10, where filmmakers were invited to crate short films on the theme: “Plot for a Biennial” using the key words; treason, affiliation, corruption, necessity, devotion, disclosure, translation and insurrection.

Last year 17,000 visitors flocked to the desert paradise, and it is likely that this number will grow in 2012. The challenge will be attempting to take it all in in only four days, and remain standing at the close.