The inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi, which runs 19–22 November at Manarat Al Saadiyat, will have 84 galleries from a total of 36 countries in its two commercial sections and two further selection-by-curator areas.

That’s a lot less than the last Abu Dhabi Art, which had 131 by our count; they aren’t exactly equivalent, though. For a start Frieze Abu Dhabi is part of a larger ecosystem; Frieze’s network runs to fairs in London, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Seoul, and there’s a branding imperative that runs through all of them that combines the commercial function of an art fair with the cultural authority of an editorial platform. Frieze describes itself as connecting artists, galleries, collectors, and diverse audiences while promoting artistic exploration and cultural discourse.

These days most art fairs would claim much the same, of course. Frieze adds the overlay of regional emphasis, while offering opportunities to galleries to expand their geographical scope. For Frieze Abu Dhabi, the press release talks of “a distinct curatorial framework prioritising discovery, exchange and connection” – but it’s noticeable that there’s a new stream of blue-chip galleries from outside the area.

As exhibitor and selection committee member Asmaa Al-Shabibi of Lawrie Shabibi (right) puts it, “Frieze Abu Dhabi has the opportunity to contribute something genuinely distinctive to the international fair calendar by reflecting a new East-West meeting point”.

Perhaps more relevantly, Frieze describes its first Abu Dhabi edition as a “tightly selected group” who have been given with larger stands and a more generous layout intended to encourage “sustained engagement”.

Even so, Frieze Abu Dhabi clearly builds on the 17 years of Abu Dhabi Art’s regional presence, arguably as the junior partner to Art Dubai but still able to build its own identity (even if the early years in particular meant that the royal family provided most of its customers).

DCT Abu Dhabi is still involved as Frieze’s partner to foster the show’s soft-power ambitions for Abu Dhabi; and the much-respected Dyala Nusseibeh remains as director, noted for her ability to build platforms, networks, audiences, and institutions. Under her watch Abu Dhabi Art grew into a role as part of the UAE’s broader cultural ecosystem rather than simply a sales event.

Frieze’s Abu Dhabi’s main Galleries section, showcasing works produced from the mid-20th century onwards, has more than 60 exhibitors. There’s a solid base of top UAE galleries – Carbon 12, Lawrie Shabibi, The Third Line, Tabari Artspace, Iris Projects, Gallery Isabelle, Green Art Gallery among others – with some of the big names from Saudi Arabia (Athr, Hafez) and Lebanon (Saleh Barakat, Mark Hachem, Galerie Tanit).

It will be interesting to see Dastan from Tehran, too, and BüroSarıgedik and Galerist from Istanbul. There’s good representation from North Africa (Casablanca to Cairo) and the sizable Indian contingent includes Experimenter, Galerie Isa, Jhaveri Contemporary and Nature Morte.

Frieze’s international reach is presumably responsible for the strong showing from London – among them Thaddaeus Ropac, Richard Saltoun, Timothy Taylor, Victoria Miro, Vigo Gallery, Voena and Waddington Custot – alongside a smattering of European galleries. There’s also some blue-chip New York names: Gagosian, Pace, Vito Schnabel and Leila Heller (the only one of that cohort to have a UAE outpost).

So what’s missing? The most notable group of the 20 or so UAE galleries who were at Abu Dhabi Art 2025 but which won’t be at Frieze Abu Dhabi (unless there’s a late rush of bookings) are smaller, newer, specialist, or very locally oriented – the likes of Artbooth, Etihad Modern, Noon Arts, and Hunna Art. Some of those were in the explicitly named Emerge section, which isn’t part of Frieze’s package. Abu Dhabi Art also had more specials, including Focus sections for Türkiye and Nigeria.

Incidentally, the international outlook is mirrored in the Selection Committee for Frieze Abu Dhabi. From the UAE comes Asmaa Al-Shabibi as mentioned, plus Yasmin Atassi (Green Art Gallery) along with Sandhini Poddar (London-based but currently an Adjunct Curator associated with the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi). They’re joined by Amrita Jhaveri from Mumbai’s Jhaveri Contemporary and Glenn Scott Wright, longtime co-director of Victoria Miro in London.

The other commercial section is Focus, a long-standing Frieze feature for younger international galleries showing experimental solo or dual presentations. Frieze Abu Dhabi is offering bursaries for each gallery in this section to encourage them to show locally.

It’s a modest group of just six galleries for 2026. Solo presentations include Abu Dhabi’s Iyad Qanazea Gallery showing works by Jawad Al Malhi, but that’s the only local one. Also there: New York-based Management, presenting new textile and installation works by Tahir Karmali; Solo from Bucharest with three sculptural works by Thuy Tien Nguyen; the Canadian gallery Patel Brown with Marigold Santos; Brazil’s W-galería showing Chonon Bensho; and Commonwealth & Council from Los Angeles, presenting Dala Nasser.

The fair will also have two curated sections. Frieze Masters Abu Dhabi is curated by Marika Sardar, an art historian and curator whose expertise focuses on the historical networks of the Indian Ocean. That shapes the content of Frieze Masters Abu Dhabi, which we’re told will present “exceptional objects and artefacts from West Asia and beyond, spanning Antiquity through to the early 20th century … shaped around the theme of the Indian Ocean, encompassing the historic movement of objects, people and ideas through trade, collecting and cultural exchange”. As Sardar says, “What appeals to me about the themes of movement and object collection is thinking about how artists have historically been inspired by traditions that were new to them, often encountered through the arrival of foreign goods or works of art …” Lots of antique objects and rare manuscripts in this section.

And the more contemporary equivalent is Global Futures, a series of gallery presentations for solo artists whose practices engage with histories and ideas that resonate across the UAE and the wider region – “bringing together artists from distinct cultural contexts, the section will trace connections across place, material and lived experience, situating their work within the broader regional and international dialogues that Frieze Abu Dhabi seeks to foster”.

This section includes Ala Younis with Taymour Grahne Projects, Abdullah Al Saadi at Aisha Alabbar, Mohammed Joha at Zawyeh (he’s currently to be seen at the Venice Biennale), Arshi Irshad Ahmadzai (Chatterjee & Lal), Seta Manoukian (Marfa’ Projects), and Tania Candiani with Vermelho.

They have been selected by Tarini Malik (left), a London-based curator and writer with a well-established reputation in contemporary art, particularly for historically and politically engaged work. Her role should give Global Futures intellectual and curatorial coherence; certainly this section is intended to be more than a regional showcase, instead showing connections to an international contemporary-art discourse.

Frieze Abu Dhabi’s wider programme will also feature initiatives including the debut of a Frieze Abu Dhabi Artist Award (no information on this yet), a new annual exhibition pairing an established and emerging UAE artist under the name In Dialogue (ditto, but it sounds interesting), and a series of curated talks on “collecting, the institutional landscape and artistic practice” (much as expected).

The press release also has a throwaway line referencing Frieze Sculpture, presumably an Abu Dhabi version of the well established London event (London’s free outdoor exhibition in Regent’s Park runs 16 September to 1 November with 11 international artists featured). It’s not mentioned anywhere else, though, so it may be an aspiration rather than a fact.

The Frieze Abu Dhabi website is currently a one-pager with no useful information, but that will presumably change. Meanwhile the press release here includes the gallery list.