DUBAI.- Art Dubai Projects is a programme of new works and performances that explores the fabric and economy of an art fair, embracing the theatrical nature of such an event. In 2012, this critically-acclaimed, interactive programme at Art Dubai (March 21-24, 2012) features dynamic new initiatives: artists’ residencies and site-specific projects are joined by live, city-wide radio transmissions; a new Performance Night staged at the fair; plus a unique artist’s project for children.

Artists commissioned to produce new site-specific and performative works for Art Dubai Projects include Fayçal Baghriche, Yto Barrada, Carlos Celdran, James Clar, Koken Ergun, Setu Legi, Magdi Mostafa, UBIK and Deniz Üster.

In partnership with The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, The Curatorial Delegation -- a collective consisting of writer and curator Juan A. Gaitán and Rabat’s L’Appartement 22 founder Abdellah Karroum -- presents Radio for Example (R22-Dubai), a live transmission of mobile conversations with leading artistic practitioners, recorded on the move, around Dubai. These interviews will be streamed on Radio Apartment 22 and presented at Art Dubai and The Pavilion.

In keeping with the spirit of collaboration, Art Dubai hosts its inaugural Performance Night on March 22, in partnership with not-for-profit artspace Traffic. This special event features artists, poets, musicians, academics, curators, and collectors -- most of whom are based in the UAE -- including Hala Al Ali, Isak Berbic, Jennifer & Kevin McCoy, Anahita Razmi, Lantian Xie and WolfPakistan, a self-styled “native-born Emirati Indian Slash Mexican dance rap group”.

Art Dubai Projects also presents an ambitious series of commissioned interactive performances reflecting on the fair’s format and economy. In 2012, selected artists include Manila-based Carlos Celdran, who will perform seven acts in seven different parts of Art Dubai, offering commentary about issues surrounding geopolitics, arts and culture, and Koken Ergun, from Istanbul, whose new project involves surprise performances throughout the fair, employing musicality as a means of communication.

Created by renowned Tangier-based artist Yto Barrada with designers Zid Zid Kids, Morocco to the Moon is an interactive, educational installation and series of workshops for families and children. Inspired by 1950s sci-fi-- and featuring astronauts, aliens, ray-guns and space robots -- this trilingual space takes visitors on a whimsical trip to outer-space and beyond. Also serving as a unique exploration area for children and astronauts of all ages, the space offers bespoke furniture, fun and innovative play-objects, interactive features, film projections, and stimulating workshops for children run by world-class visiting artists.

Other site-specific installations include Pseudophobia, an interactive fortress (or refuge)-like structure made from sandbags, textiles, pins and mirrors, by Jogjakarta-based artist Setu Legi, and Oil and Water, a collaboration between artists James Clar and UBIK which uses an architectural model of a Dubai landmark as a point of creative departure. Dubai-based UBIK will also present Portrait of an Artist through his Statements, an edible project that documents the precarious and symbolic relationship artists share with their bank balance on a daily basis.

This year Art Dubai debuts The Hatch, an ordinary stairwell given new life as a screening room. This intimate, innovative space features video programmes curated by Bidoun and Radio for Example, among others, plus artists’ talks and presentations.

In 2012, Art Dubai, Delfina Foundation, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and Tashkeel launched a new, three-month residency programme, for six artists and a curator. As part of their residency, artists Fayçal Baghriche (Paris), Magdi Mostafa (Cairo) and Deniz Üster (Istanbul, Glasgow) have been commissioned to make major, new site-specific works for Art Dubai Projects. Alongside UAE-based artists Hadeyah Badri, Zeinab Al Hashimi and Nasir Nasrallah, they are also creating Open Studios exhibitions that run as part of Sikka Art Fair during Art Week.

In collaboration with ArtAsiaPacific, curator-in-residence Alexandra MacGilp (London), was selected from an international open call for curators and will spend the remaining time in Dubai interacting with the artists-in-residence in addition to engaging in critical research and writing projects.

The six-day Global Art Forum reinvents itself in 2012, and includes a wealth of commissioned projects and new publications, besides live discussions and presentations.

DXB Store, a pop-up, not-for-profit venture showcasing products -- artists’ multiples to jewelry to stationery to design collectibles -- by UAE-based creatives returns to Art Dubai for its second edition. Selected from an open call by a jury (furniture and objects designer Khalid Shafar, s*uce co-founder Zayan Ghandour and designer Manabu Ozawa), the 2012 participants will be announced shortly.

Marker, the section of curated gallery stands, also returns to the fair for a second edition, this year turning its gaze to the rising Indonesian arts community. Commissioned by Art Dubai, Jogjakarta-born Alia Swastika invited five Indonesian galleries to the fair who are now working with their artists to produce new work for Art Dubai 2012. Galleries include Ark Galerie (Jakarta), Biasa Artspace (Kuta, Bali), Galerie Canna (Jakarta), D Galerie (Jakarta) and Jogja Contemporary (Jogjakarta).