The curated (aka non-commercial) programme for the inaugural edition of Frieze Abu Dhabi has been announced. It looks good, as you’d expect; and there are some instructive pointers on the evolution from the Abu Dhabi Art model.
At the centre of Frieze Abu Dhabi – specifically in Manarat al Saadiyat’s Atrium – there will be a new site-specific commission by Dala Nasser. From Dirwaza Curatorial Lab comes In Dialogue, an interesting experiment that pairs an upcoming artist from the UAE with an established one. There will be a three-day talks programme, details of which are still a bit sketchy. And Frieze Sculpture Abu Dhabi will bring five large-scale works to Saadiyat’s Mamsha Beach.
On the commercial side, more than 80 galleries from 36 countries and regions will participate in the fair.
Dyala Nusseibeh, Frieze Abu Dhabi’s Director (left), promises that this programme “puts artists and their ideas at the centre of Frieze Abu Dhabi … Spanning generations and geographies, it reflects the artistic histories, ideas and practices that connect Abu Dhabi to a wider scene”.
So what’s changed from the last Abu Dhabi Art in November 2025? Some obvious elements are retained – the fair’s location, the involvement of DCT Abu Dhabi, even Dyala Nusseibeh. But there are also some significant points of difference, quite apart from the scale of the fair itself (Abu Dhabi Art’s final edition had more than 140 galleries, Frieze has 80 or so).
The obvious one is the scale of the curated element. Abu Dhabi Art seemed to feel it had a remit to promote and document the local art scene: so we had the Pavilion Prize for student designers, the Beyond commissions for new works by emergent UAE-based artists (which in the past had travelled internationally after the fair), the guest-curated Gateway programme of installations, a performance programme, and site-specific projects around Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
There was also the Abu Dhabi Art Talks series, which presumably is being matched by Frieze’s own offering. And Abu Dhabi Art had no door charge; previous versions did have an entrance charge but last year was free with online registration, whereas Frieze Abu Dhabi will be charging AED 36.75 per day for general admission (AED 173.25 for a three-day pass).
The overall impression is that Abu Dhabi Art had loftier aspirations and probably less measurable KPIs. Frieze Abu Dhabi is more specific in its goals, a commercial art fair that seeks to contribute to Abu Dhabi’s soft-power positioning as a high-end cultural destination. When Dyala Nusseibeh speaks of “connecting Abu Dhabi to a wider scene”, the assumption must be that she is speaking of the wider international reach that the Frieze brand can bring to Saadiyat.
Not that this is a bad target to aim for. Abu Dhabi Art was sometimes puppy-like in its enthusiasm and scattergun in its multiple approaches. Frieze Abu Dhabi seems to be going for less volume and more quality: certainly the curated programming sets a high bar.
The inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi Artist Award is curated by Nabila Abdel Nabi, Senior Curator for International Art at Tate and head of the Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational, who selected the Lebanese (London-based) artist Dala Nasser (right) as its recipient.
The award will support a new commission, Nasser’s ambitious site-responsive work Qubbat Duris; this takes its name from a 13th-century monument in the Bekaa Valley, a structure which reflects the transcultural history of the region. Nasser’s installation offers a reflection on the ways materials carry memory over generations, and on a collective responsibility towards landscapes facing destruction.
Said Abdel Nabi: “I am delighted to be working with an artist who really pushes us to sharpen our understanding of humanity’s inextricable relationship to non-human worlds, and how these relations to the land shape our conceptions of who we are, where we came from and where we’re going in an era of compounding crises”. Powerful stuff.
Much the same can be hoped for from In Dialogue, described as a new annual flagship exhibition. Dirwaza Curatorial Lab has titled this one ‘At Another Meeting Point’ and paired works by Mohammed Kazem and Alia Zaal, “opening up new perspectives and unexpected points of connection across generations”. This sounds promising.
Frieze Sculpture Abu Dhabi is a nod to the London-based parent, currently on show in Regent’s Park until 1 November. London has 11 works; Abu Dhabi has five, but given the artists involved we’re expecting big things – they are Zeinab Alhashemi, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Imran Qureshi, and Kamran Samimi.
On show at Mamsha Beach from 16 November to 16 December, they have sadly fallen prey to the Frieze press office’s artspeak generator: “together, the sculptures will create connections between the natural and constructed, past and present, inviting audiences to pause and encounter art as part of everyday life …”
As for the Talks programme, we don’t know how many sessions there will be (the full schedule will be published later this month, we’re told) but two have been detailed – Building the Global Museum with Michael Govan, Eugene Tan, and Kate Fowle; and Curating Across Knowledge Systems with Cosmin Costinaș, Kelli Cole, and Claudia Segura.
Frieze Abu Dhabi takes place at Manarat Al Saadiyat from place from 19 to 22 November, with the first of those reserved for VIPs. The website is here.
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