Making a living through art: Is it possible in the Gulf?

I left a steady job to work on my craft as a writer earlier this year. It was scary, but it led to major milestones like winning a short story competition hosted by Netflix and The Evening Standard in the UK.

Now, I’m getting invited to an authors’ showcase at Expo 2020 and will take part in the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature next spring — not as a moderator like I have been for the past several years, but as an author in my own right. However, I still frequently get asked the question: Does it pay the bills? Can pure creatives make a living in the Gulf?

In the Gulf region, where job-related visas are mandatory to live here, the traditional 9-to-5 work schedule can be more demanding of time for professionals. You can’t easily nip out for a shot at stardom when it comes calling.

I met Dina Rabadi, a talented singer and songwriter, when training my voice for moderating gigs. She performed over 100 live shows across the Gulf in 2019 alone to make ends meet. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and performances ground to a halt, she took on a voice coaching role at Studio Republik, which is where we met. To add to her income streams, she designs her own fashion collection, curates content for her social media account, and collaborates with brands.

“As an independent artist with no record label or support, I really have to be on top of my game by building an audience and producing everything myself,” she says. “It’s a one-woman company. I have to wake up every day and love what I do, remind myself that this is my calling.”

The singer, who opened for Take That and Calvin Harris on regional tours in the past, will perform her biggest show to date on Dec. 23, at the Expo 2020’s Jubilee Stage.

Other artists, like Amrita Sethi, have found success by moving into the digital space. The visual artist began working with non-fungible tokens when the pandemic hit in 2020 and now makes a living from her creative work alone. Her piece titled “WTNFT?” (What The NFT?) — her first 3D animation — sold for $102,000 earlier this year. More recently, in October 2021, she painted a large mural, 20 meters long by 15 meters high, creating the world’s first NFT mural with augmented reality at the DIFC Innovation Hub.

“NFTs allowed me to take my art from a flat 2D form to a fully immersive, multi-dimensional form that incorporates sound, art, technology, and storytelling,” says Sethi, who has a financial background and worked in banking. “I felt a deeper calling to explore, create and share. So, I transitioned from the corporate world into my entrepreneurial world. This shift led to the creation of my well-known signature style ‘Voice Note Art.’”

She has created Voice Note Art portraits for celebrities and world leaders, including a commissioned piece for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum in 2020. She is also behind the world’s first augmented reality abaya, where you scan a QR code directly stitched into the sleeve of the abaya. Through augmented reality, the abaya comes to life.

Dubai and other major Gulf cities play host to many major conferences that are surprisingly nice platforms for creatives throughout the year. At a recent Google conference for the Middle East and North Africa region, a sand artist stole the show amid major company announcements. At DCS 2021, part of Blockchain World taking place on Dec. 15-17, patrons of art will mingle with musicians, artists, and DJs in Abu Dhabi’s ADNEC Exhibition Hall in between sessions. Established artists such as Sacha Jafri, Alexa Meada and Vesa will display interactive visual works at the event.

Now that events are coming back to life and special initiatives — such as the UAE’s 10-year Golden Visa for those nominated by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority — are on the table, there is a chance for creatives to flourish. Case in point: a new writers fellowship by the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature for aspiring novelists — the first of its kind in the region. The opportunities are rising; it’s just about taking a risk and finding the right, supportive community to help you dream big.

• Sara Hamdan is a former Merrill Lynch banker, NYT journalist and editor at Google. She writes on startups, women in business, and post-COVID-19 work trends.

Twitter: @SaraHamdan