Art Dubai Special Edition

Art Dubai’s rescheduled 2026 incarnation has a basic shape as before – a fair with Contemporary, Modern and Digital gallery sections – but there are some significant changes. For a start, of course, there are many fewer commercial galleries involved: we count 51 rather than the 120 or so originally signed up. Just about all the UAE galleries are there (24 of them, and there are only a couple of obvious absentees by comparison with the 2025 roster). And despite the obvious issues with air travel and insurance for people and artworks there are a smattering of Europeans too. In total nearly 20 countries are represented.

Benedetta Ghione, Executive Director of the Art Dubai Group notes in the press release that “current circumstances mean that this may not be what we had planned to mark our 20th edition, but the galleries and wider programmes represent what makes Art Dubai both unique and special”. She also pointed out that Art Dubai has always been more than your usual art fair – it’s also been a flagship and a support system for the cultural scene here. So “this special edition will demonstrate the resilience of the UAE’s cultural scene as well as the power of collaboration, bringing together galleries, artists and institutions at a time when that role of convening feels more important than ever. Art Dubai’s story is Dubai’s story, and producing this special edition would only be possible in Dubai …”

Indeed, this time Art Dubai has more of a festival vibe, with a raft of non-commercial elements like installations, performances, screenings and its daily programme of talks and conversations – plus the always excellent Global Art Forum, which will be on the programme as usual. The installations and site-responsive artworks across the fair include some substantial names from the local ecosystem, with works by Khalid Al Banna, Hashel Al Lamki, Rashid Bin Shabib and Ahmed Bin Shabib, Rami Farook, Kevork Mourad, Yaw Owusu, Neda Razavipour and Sudarshan Shetty.

There are also “expanded partnerships” with local institutions to emphasise “the fair’s role as a platform for collaboration and exchange”. Those include unspecified collaborations with Art Jameel, the National Pavilion UAE, the Ministry of Culture, and Expo City’s House of Arts – but also …

– works from the Barjeel Art Foundation’s probably unparalleled collection of modern Arab art
– a performance programme with the Sharjah Art Foundation
– a programme of “moving image works” (aka films?) co-curated with Alserkal Avenue and screened at both venues
– an exhibition from the Dubai Collection (privately owned works available for occasional loan for public exhibition – it’s run by Art Dubai). Under the title Made Forward and exploring “how societies construct sustain and carry themselves forward”, this will have art from more than 20 private collections

Art Dubai Special Edition runs from 15 to 17 May, with public access 4-9pm on Friday, 2-9pm on Saturday, and 12-6pm on Sunday (Thursday 14 May is the VIP-only day). Entry is free on public days, but you need to preregister here and you’ll need the Art Dubai app too.

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