ABSTRACT
Since the mid-2000s new cultural institutions have emerged in Middle Eastern cities like Beirut and Cairo but also Tehran and a few Gulf cities. These include galleries, museums, collections, archive centres, libraries, training centres and multipurpose spaces dedicated to artistic creation as well as to the conservation and promotion of heritage and artworks.1 Though these institutions have been around for a long time in some cities, their integration into the regional economy seems relatively new. Their economic dynamism is partly the result of a booming art market, which simultaneously reinforces ties between cities in the region (Choron-Baix and Mermier 2012). This new regional situation, moreover, has an impact on the local dynamism of cities while also accentuating the process of metropolisation (Mermier 2002). Indeed, by being installed mostly in peripheral or marginalised urban areas, these cultural institutions contribute to regenerating the urban fabric. This can be seen in programmes for the development of arts infrastructure (museums, arts centres, arts galleries, for example) or in support of the arts (festivals), or else by the arrival of artists to certain districts (Florida 2002; Markusen 2006).
