{"id":68741,"date":"2026-05-13T16:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/?p=68741"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T09:29:03","slug":"art-dubai-redux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/art-dubai-redux\/","title":{"rendered":"Art Dubai redux: the Special One"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Art Dubai\u2019s rescheduled and reshaped 2026 incarnation will return to Madinat Jumeirah from 15 to 17 May. It\u2019s being labelled as Art Dubai Special Edition \u2013 to cover the changes, but also to acknowledge that this is the fair\u2019s 20th anniversary.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overall impression is that the Art Dubai team has cracked it. The fact that there are fewer galleries in the selling section has been more than compensated for by (largely non-commercial) collaborations and initiatives; some of these are genuinely impressive, and make the fair well worth revisiting … especially as entry is free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galleries<\/p>\n\n\n

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The basic shape is as before \u2013 a fair with Contemporary, Modern and Digital gallery sections\u00a0\u2013 but there are some significant changes. For a start, of course, there are many fewer commercial galleries involved: we count 51\u00a0rather than the 120 or so originally signed up. Benedetta Ghione, Executive Director of the Art Dubai Group (right, in genial mood) told The Art Newspaper\u00a0“there is a constituency of galleries for whom the fair didn\u2019t make sense, for a number of reasons \u2013 timing, logistics or the specific projects that they were planning to bring”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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; we have a full list at the end<\/a> of this piece). 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, which isn\u2019t bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We understand that galleries that had originally signed up but subsequently dropped out will still be required to pay for their booths, with a spot reserved for them in 2027. Those galleries who are on the Special Edition roster won\u2019t be required to pay booth fees \u2013 instead they\u2019ll be charged a percentage of their sales, capped at the booth fee equivalent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free entry for visitors is a big plus that emphasises Art Dubai\u2019s wider role (and the opportunities that have inadvertently been provided by the current situation). Ghione noted in the press release that \u201ccurrent 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\u201d. She also pointed out that Art Dubai has always been more than your usual art fair \u2013 it\u2019s also been a flagship and a support system for the cultural scene here. So \u201cthis special edition will demonstrate the resilience of the UAE\u2019s 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\u2019s story is Dubai\u2019s story, and producing this special edition would only be possible in Dubai \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are free guided tours<\/strong> at 4pm, 5pm and 7pm on 16 May, and 2pm, 4pm and 5pm on 17 May. They last about 45 minutes and you need to preregister via the Art Dubai app<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaborations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2013 plus the always excellent Global Art Forum, which will be on the programme as usual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The installations and site-responsive artworks across the fair include some substantial names from the local ecosystem. Among them are works by Khalid Al Banna<\/strong> (monumental sculptural works); Hashel Al Lamki<\/strong> <\/strong>(Maat, a suspended textile installation composed of reclaimed fabrics and reconfigured at the fair as a new spatial work); and Neda Razavipour<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0Silk Road<\/em>, a large-scale tapestry reflecting histories of exchange. Other commissions and installations come from Rashid and Ahmed Bin Shabib, Rami Farook, Kevork Mourad, Yaw Owusu, Neda Razavipour<\/strong> and Sudarshan<\/strong> Shetty<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sudarshan Shetty, A Song, A Story | Sculpture I and II (2016). Presented by Leila Heller Gallery, Sudarshan Shetty\u2019s works explore architectural forms and cultural elements of the Indian subcontinent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Exhibitions include Pulse<\/em>, works by Mahmoud Said, Samia Halaby and Safeya Binzagr from the Barjeel Art Foundation<\/strong>\u2019s probably unparalleled collection of modern Arab art; and a show from the Dubai Collection<\/strong> (privately owned works available for occasional loan for public exhibition: it\u2019s run by Art Dubai) under the title Made Forward<\/a><\/strong><\/em> and exploring \u201chow societies construct sustain and carry themselves forward\u201d \u2013 this will have art from more than 20 private collections, including works by Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Brahim Dhahak <\/strong>and Leila Nseir<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sharjah Art Foundation<\/strong> performance programme, Against Stillness<\/a><\/strong>, is “rooted in the transformative potential of refusing to stay still in one\u2019s circumstances” \u2013 which seems appropriate enough. The schedule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n