The museums being built in the Gulf draw a lot of attention, but this focus hides the near absence of an art infrastructure. There has been much discussion in this essay of artists, galleries and museums, but not of non-profit organizations and community-based initiatives. That is because these hardly exist, with the exception of some informal groups. Discussions between the author and protagonists of the Gulf art scenes revealed a general awareness that such non-commercial, non-governmental, structures are vital to the development of a strong art scene.
Taking the Netherlands as an example, art infrastructure includes creative art education in schools, art colleges of varying levels of prestige, grants and other funding schemes for artists and for art organizations, non-commercial art spaces, community art centers, support for international projection of artists, prizes and peer review systems; most of this is funded with public money.
In the Gulf, no government funding exists for such initiatives and the private sector only sporadically invests in them, keeping its own interests in mind. International funding is generally also inaccessible, because it is usually reserved for developing (=poor) or post-conflict countries. Arab countries along the Mediterranean Sea have more options thanks to Euro-Mediterranean programs. The only funding body I know of, that artists in the Gulf can apply to, is the Beirut-based Arab Fund for Arts and Culture.
Luckily, some wealthy patrons fund organizations like the Contemporary Art Platform in Kuwait, Al Riwaq in Bahrain, or Tashkeel in Dubai. These do perform very useful functions, but many more of such initiatives are needed to make a difference. Patronage will probably gradually develop in the Gulf countries, but there is more lacking than money.
A certain breed of art managers is also needed: people who know how to deal with artists and have affinity with their work, but also know how to organize events, communicate, manage budgets, maintain relations with sponsors and patrons and stay abreast of developments in their field. Such expertise is readily available in the West, and it would be efficient to connect it to local needs. A platform for exchange of services, expertise and recruitment in the Gulf focusing on contemporary arts could greatly facilitate such exchange.