the S3 art fund.

Shehab Hamad

Art in the Middle East.

• Middle East art market is at the beginning of a boom reminiscent of those that the Indian and Chinese art markets underwent over the past decades.

• The market will be supported by massive regional state-backed investments in museums and associated arts infrastructure. These museums are still putting together their buying teams.

• There's huge and growing demand for what is a rather limited amount of works.

• Art prices are still relatively affordable.

Upcoming Museums.

• Abu Dhabi

• Louvre

• Guggenheim

• Doha

• Museum of Islamic Art (w/ British Museum)

• Museum of Modern Arab Art

• Dubai

• Museum of Modern Art

• Culture Village

Why a Middle East Art Fund?

• Want to diversify your portfolio.

• Want to benefit from the up-side potential of Middle Eastern Art market.

• Do not have the time and / or the knowledge to build a portfolio.

• Take advantage of scale (giving the fund better access to artists’ and galleries’ best works).

S3 Art Fund.

• A fund that will build a portfolio of art works by emerging Middle Eastern artists (with a focus on Iran, Egypt and Lebanon).

• The fund will then store, insure and PR the collected artworks and artists.

• The fund will finally sell the artworks to museums and collectors directly or at auction.

• The fund will liquidate all unsold stocks by auctioning the works amongst the principals.

S3 strategy.

• Focus on young emerging artists attached to the region’s leading galleries.

• Utilize extensive networks in the regional Art World to identify key artists before break-out shows.

• Snap up artwork before major breakthrough shows.

• Sell portfolio at auctions and direct to museums and collectors after 3 - 4 year lock-in period.

• Unsold pieces will be auctioned amongst the principal investors.

S3 timeline.

Youssef Nabil.

Trends at Auction.

• Farhad Moshiri became the first artist from the Middle East to sell a work of art at auction for more than $1 million March 3rd when ``Love'' sold for $1,048,000 at Bonhams's first Dubai auction. Bloomberg

• The Bonhams sale fetched over $13 million, more than double the high estimate of $6 million, and 94 percent of the lots sold. Iranian artists dominated the sale, with an untitled work by Charles Zenderoudi taking the second-highest price at $504,000.

• Christie's record-breaking auctions in 2007 exceeded all expectations with sales totaling $11,814,880 / AED 43,360,609. 1 February's art sale amassed 51 new artist records and set a sales figure of $9,417,560/AED 34,562,445. AMEInfo.

Auctions in Figures.

Christie’s (i) Christie’s (ii) Christie’s (iii) Bonhams Christie’s (iii)

Auctioneer Views.

• “This auction underlines the importance and quality of Arab and Iranian art now available. Finally, the record-breaking results of tonight’s sale demonstrate the category’s true potential,” said William Lawrie, specialist, Modern and Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art. Christie’s

• Bonhams' says the auction comes as the Middle East's arts scene begins to evolve with increasing interest in long-term investment in artistic assets.

Press Highlights.

•If anything, some players expect an even stronger market in the Middle East than in China, because so many of the art initiatives—to showcase the region's artists as well as import Western art—have the direct backing of the government or royal families. Abu Dhabi is planning to spend $50 million to fill its Louvre. Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, of Qatar, is on a buying spree to fill a quintet of museums he's planning in Doha, the emirate's capital. There's "real dynamism" in the world of Middle Eastern art now, and the artists are "expanding onto the international stage". Portfolio.

• British art collector Charles Saatchi is also making his interest known, seeking to open a gallery in the United Arab Emirates and speaking to potential partners about an Arabic-language version of his website. Portfolio.

Financial Times.

• The Qataris are building an art museum and the sheikh has emerged as one of the biggest collectors in the world.

• Most Middle Eastern nations are likewise building art museums, with both a Guggenheim and a Louvre destined for Abu Dhabi, for example.

• These museums will start accumulating works to fill their vast spaces later this year. - Financial Times.

Farhad Moshiri

Time Out Dubai.

• A YouGov Siraj poll of over 100,000 GCC residents it revealed, among other things, that 60 per cent of those questioned have purchased some sort of art, most commonly paintings, and that four in 10 participants anticipated spending more on art in the next five years. (Only property had more ‘importance value’- Time Out Dubai

• Christie’s Michael Jeha nods to ‘increasing high-level support from government authorities’, which have led to Abu Dhabi’s soon-to-be-built Guggenheim and Louvre museums and the launch of ‘Khor Dubai’ – a 10-strong cluster of culture and heritage sites scheduled to be built in Shindagha by 2015. ‘All these players and factors,’ he says, ‘have helped to increase the demand and appetite for art.’- Time Out Dubai

The China Example.

• The explosion of the art market in China, where prices for contemporary art have increased by 2,000 percent or more, fueling the growth of hundreds of new galleries and 1,600 auction houses. ArtNEWS.

• China, meanwhile, claims 15 of the 35 artists worldwide who command seven-digit sales, and the country’s artists have seen prices rise eight-fold in the past seven years. Financial Times.

Fund Figures.

Capital Raised US$250,000

Setup US$20,000

Expenses US$45,000

Art Portfolio US$185,000

Annual Appreciation

Sale Value Profit

20% US$319,680 US$69,680.00

30% US$406,445 US$156,445

40% US$507,640 US$257,640

S3.

• Shehab Hamad has been an active player and collector in the burgeoning Middle East Arts scene since 2004.

• He co-founded Five Green, an important pre-cursor to the current generation of art spaces and artists.

• He also co-founded 9714, a marketing agency that has worked extensively in the regional Arts industry.

• His network amongst galleries, artists, arts media and organizations is strong.

Thank You.