By UAE’s most awaited art fairs 2025
Here’s a line-up of must-visit annual art exhibitions scheduled to take place in April in the Emirates
Alserkal Art Week
April 13th to 20, 2025
One of UAE’s most vibrant art hubs, Alserkal Avenue in Al Quoz, Dubai, will come alive with a range of gallery exhibitions, talks and public artworks in mid-April under the theme A Wild Stitch. As you will walk through the avenue, don’t miss the new public art commissions – ‘Between A Beach and Slope’, featuring Emirati artist Nujoom Alghanem and Indian artist Shilpa Gupta’s ‘Still They Know Not What I Dream’. Both these works challenge the thoughts of belonging and urge deeper awareness of our physical and social landscapes. Also on view would be Vanishing Points — a major exhibition by artist Imran Qureshi at Concrete. Trained in Indo-Persian miniatures, the artist uses video, photography, painting and installation to flatten distances and invites viewers to see the world as a miniature.
Over 15 art galleries in Alserkal avenue will also be hosting exhibitions including Efie Gallery, where Cuban artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons debuts with ‘I am Soiled. My Tears are Water’, an immersive reflection on migration ancestral memory and nature shaped by colonisation across Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
Zawyeh Gallery will present British Palestinian artist, Bashir Makhoul’s ‘The Promise’. At Ayyam Gallery, Iraqi Palestinian photographer, Sama Alshaibi’s photographs will reconstruct Baghdad’s shifting landscapes. Gulf Photo Plus will hosts ‘A Memorial in Fragments’ featuring Saudi artist Majd Arandas’ posthumous work on photography’s role in documenting Gaza.
At Green Art Gallery visitors can view paintings by Iranian artist Maryam Hoseini exploring the fragmentation of woman’s bodies and identities. Also, Leila Heller Gallery brings an exhibition of Iranian artist Reza Derakshani. ‘I Paint Your Grace, I Paint Your Pain, I Paint Love’, is Derakshani’s first solo in five years, meditating on memory and transformation through Persian-inspired works. Gallery Isabelle will revisit pioneering Emirati conceptual artist Hassan Sharif’s ‘Objects’ series.
Other exhibitions include 1×1 Art Gallery’s showcase of Indian artist and filmmaker K.M. Madhusudhanan’s The Shape of the Sky, A Rectangle, Firetti Contemporary’s Reverie, featuring Cuban-born Reynier Llanes’ paintings, Aisha Alabbar Gallery’s A Radical Intimacy of Hanging Out, a group show featuring Asma Khoory, Taqwa Al Naqbi, and Sultan Al Remeithi, questioning the logic of Gulf urbanism.
For more details visit https://alserkal.online/programme/alserkal-art-week-a-wild-stitch/
Abu Dhabi Festival
April 9 to 29, 2025
In celebration of UAE’s Year of Community, Abu Dhabi Festival’s 22nd edition highlights over 50 years of diplomatic ties with Japan. The festival brings together an exceptional series of musical programmes featuring legendary percussionists, award-winning pianists, world renowned orchestras and a spectacular ballet with performances taking place at New York University, Abu Dhabi (NYUD). Significant shows include Kodo, a renowned Japanese Taiko drumming ensemble with over 7,000 performances in more than 50 countries to be held at the Red Theater, The Arts Center at NYU, Abu Dhabi. Virtuoso pianist Yunchan Lim will play the gold standard of works (Bach’s Goldberg variations) in an Arab World Premiere. A trailblazer in contemporary percussion, Kuniko Kato, will showcase her flawless technique in both keyboard and percussion instruments.
The sibling piano duo, Katia and Mariellle Labeque, will perform an original innovative musical rendition. Also the Korean National University of Arts Symphony Orchestra is slated to make its Arab World debut. Other performances include, the Grammy award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich, All Star Ballet Gala, Unique Encounters with Rising Stars including Vienna Philharmonic Concertmaster, Yamen Saadi, alongside violist Sara Ferrández and cellists Kian Soltani and Pablo Ferrández. Talented trumpeter Riley Mulherkar pays a special tribute to the late musical legend Quincy Jones.
World Art Dubai
April 17 to 20, 2025
One of the largest art fairs in the MENA region returns for its 11th edition at Dubai World Trade Centre. Featuring over 10,000 artworks from more than 400 artists and galleries across 65 countries, the art fair is touted as an affordable space for art enthusiasts to invest in art.
Following the success of the previous editions which welcomed 15,000 visitors, this year’s event promises to target more art lovers. With live performances, workshops and discussions, WAD will offer a vibrant atmosphere of creativity and inspiration through various mediums from paintings to sculpture to textile installation, graffiti and photography as well as an art advisory for upcoming artists.
More details on https://www.worldartdubai.com/
Art Dubai
April 18 to 20, 2025
One of the most significant global art gatherings in the Middle East, each year, Art Dubai brings around 120 art galleries from over 140 countries. Gallery programmes are accompanied by artist commissions, education programmes and extensive talks scheduled this year. Expect to see a new series of performances and site-specific interventions by Mexican artist Héctor Zamora, marking the launch of a new multi-year co-commissioning partnership between Art Dubai and Alserkal Avenue.
A major new digital commission by leading Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem, presented by Julius Baer, a series of experiential commissions and installations examining the transformation of nature through technology and human experience, including site-specific works by Ania Soliman and Total Arts at the Courtyard, new site-specific digital installations debuting at Art Dubai Digital, including by Ouchhh Studio, Breakfast, Jacopo Di Cera and Hybrid Xperience, Art Dubai’s flagship transdisciplinary summit, the Global Art Forum, entitled ‘The New Normal’, commissioned by Shumon Basar, and curated by Y7 and the second edition of Art Dubai’s Digital Summit, entitled ‘After the Technological Sublime’.