The discovery of oil reserves on the Arab Peninsula in the early twentieth century brought about rapid socio-political and urban developments set against expanses of desert. Traditional society on the Peninsula has bootstrapped itself, seemingly out of nowhere, into modernity. The structures of modernity, foremost the nation-state and thriving urban centers, as well as the trappings of modernity such as higher education, capitalist economics, and an appreciation for the arts and sport, have not evolved organically over time in the region. Rather they have been master-planned with a sense of urgency over this short period. And now, with peak oil looming, governments in the region are seeking new ways to sustain this drive toward modernization without a dependence upon oil revenues. 2 One strategy toward this end is to develop the region’s tourism industry. For example, by developing the region as a new hub in the international worlds of art and sport. Megaprojects such as Saadiyat Island in the UAE, which will be the home to Guggenheim and Louvre franchises, will presumably make the region a tourist destination. Another megaproject, relevant to this workshop, is the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, these projects are not only strategic for building tourism, they will also foster education and culture in the region, and put the Peninsula, particularly the UAE and Qatar, on the map as cultural centers in their own right. It might be wondered, however, whether there exists an indigenous constituency for international art and sport on the Peninsula, with a capacity to engage critically and productively with the arts and organized sport. It might seem that the instrumental values of fostering a post-oil economy and international standing are at the heart of these emerging worlds, not a love of art or sport as such. However, ideally Peninsula society will not simply own and/or manage these emerging worlds of international art and sport, but will have a meaningful stake in them. This requires a constituency capable of appreciating the arts and sport as something more than a luxury or recreational good to be managed and consumed, but as something to be engaged in for its own sake. Indeed, without such a constituency it might also be wondered if the mere trappings of modernity will actually bring modernization to the Peninsula.