By Art Dubai, one of Middle East’s most awaited art fairs, turns 20 this year. To be held from April 17 to 19th, 2026, the fair will showcase over 100 contemporary, modern and digital creative presentations from 35 countries, under the theme – Future, Past and Present. The fair will be held at Madinat Jumeirah, under the leadership of a new director Dunja Gottweis.
Art Dubai focuses on contemporary and modern practices that contribute to global discourse and globally relevant themes. The fair’s four curated sections aredesigned in close collaboration with leading international curators and academics– Zamaniyyat, is curated by Dr. Sarah A. Rifky, Bawwaba by Amal Khalaf, Art Dubai Digital, curated by Ulrich Schrauth and Nadine Khali, and the newly introduced Bawwaba Extended is curated by Amal Khalaf and Alexie Glass-Kantor. “This year’s revamped gallery sections and our current theme — Future, Past and Present take forward our commitment to the region’s unique historical context, to showcase ultra-contemporary and evolving practices along with innovative and future-facing approaches,” said Gottweis, Fair Director. “The range and quality of applications we received for the 20th anniversary edition fully reflect the excitement, opportunity and positive energy of the current moment. We are particularly pleased to welcome several first-time participants to the Art Dubai family.”
Rooted in Dubai and deeply connected across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, Art Dubai continues to highlight the city’s status as the region’s commercial art capital and reflects the fair’s role as an important catalyst for the region’s cultural ecosystem with the 2026 edition set to welcome 36 first-time exhibitors. Notable first-time exhibitors include, Galerie Frank Elbaz (France), ChertLüdde (Germany), Labor (Mexico), and Galerie Peter Kilchmann (Switzerland).
The Zamaniyyat section would feature solo and group presentations that revisit the work of artists who shaped and reshaped modernisms globally throughout the 20th century and into the present. Focusing on practices from the 1950s to the 1990s, Zamaniyyat brings together 11 galleries and 45 artists from over 20 countries. Highlights include Gallery One (Palestine), exploring a Cairo-schooled Palestinian lineage, AA Gallery (Morocco), presenting two generations shaped by the Casablanca Art School, Dhoomimal Gallery (India), with a retrospective of Bimal Dasgupta, one of India’s early abstractionists, Agial Art Gallery (Lebanon), mapping the 1960s-70s development of abstraction across Beirut, Damascus and Baghdad, Art Exposure (India), charting the evolution of Bengal modernism from the 1960s–90s, Zamalek Art Gallery (Egypt), offering a five-decade arc of Gazbia Sirry (1925-2021), Richard Saltoun Gallery (UK), exploring exilic modernism across North Africa and the Levant; and Galerie Mueller (Switzerland), offering a transnational survey of post-war abstraction from Switzerland, Germany, the U.S, and Japan.
Bawwaba section will be dedicated to solo presentations of newly produced works by emerging to mid-career artists and will be focusing on themes around belonging, movement, resilience, and the production of knowledge. Highlights include solo presentations by Senegalese artist Arébénor Basséne (Selebe Yoon, Senegal), Nahla Tabbaa (Wadi Finan, Jordan), Katia Kameli (Traits Libres, France), Mohammed Al Hawajri (Iyad Qanazea Gallery, UAE), and Adrian Pepe (Solo Gallery, Romania). For the first time, all Bawwaba galleries will benefit from the Bawwaba Gallery Support Programme, a new initiative designed to encourage sustainable growth for young galleries looking to establish themselves in the region’s art market. Developed with the aim of encouraging new models of art fair participation and shared risk, participants pay 50 per cent of the booth fee in advance, with the remainder contingent on fair sales.
Art Dubai Digital features presentations by galleries, independent artists, studios, and collectives, foregrounding installation-led and multi-sensory practices. Set against a backdrop of a cultural landscape increasingly shaped by technology, this year’s edition offers an expanded curatorial framework that bridges immersive technology with experimental art practices, placing digital art at the heart of urgent cultural and societal conversations. Art Dubai Digital 2026 brings together international and regional voices with highlights featuring globally recognised artists including Six N Five (Plan X, Italy), Marina Abramović (Nature Morte, India & Taex, UK), Rachel Rossin (Albion Jeune, UK), Morehshin Allahyari (Gazelli Art House, UK and Azerbaijan), and Daniel Iregui (Iregular, Canada), alongside emerging voices including Ecem Dilan Köse (Art On Istanbul, Turkey), Sulaiman Al Salem (Iris Projects, UAE), Sara Niroobakhsh (Next Chapter by IRIS Contemporary Space, Iran), Fatma Lootah (Rarares, UAE), and Solienne (Automata, USA).
The Bawwaba Extended gallery programme will be accompanied by a newly created platform for immersive installations. Open to galleries regardless of participation in the fair, Bawwaba Extended will bring forward ideas that might not fit in the conventional format. Inspired by the concept of thresholds, large-scale public artworks, will transform the Madinat Jumeirah campus into a dynamic site of encounter and experimentation.
Art Dubai Location Public Dates: 17 to 19 April 2026. Preview days (by invitation only) 15 and 16 April 2026.