As the calendar ticked over to 2024, art institutions in the Gulf began setting the stage for some of their best exhibitions of the year.
The UAE will host Art Dubai and March Art Week, while Saudi Arabia has a growing fixture of events anchored by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation as well as exhibitions and biennials staged in AlUla.
Here is a mix of blockbuster shows and calmer retrospectives to catch in the coming months.
Being Borrowed: On Egyptian Migration to the Gulf
Location: NYUAD Project Space, Abu Dhabi
Date: Until February 7
This show, which originated in Cairo in 2022, looks at the years of migration of Egyptians to the Gulf. Curators Farah Hallaba, Farida Youssef and Ali Zaaray have brought together 22 artists to explore ideas around identity, home and host country, looking at the generations of Egyptians who have been raised in Abu Dhabi, as well as those who remained in Egypt.
The exhibition draws on research supported by the NYUAD programme Al Mashhad and on the work of NYUAD professor Laure Assaf.
Sheher, Prakriti, Devi
Location: Ishara, Dubai
Date: Until June 1
Curated by the New Delhi photographer Gauri Gill, this exhibition explores the relationship between the environment – both urban and rural – and the sacred.
Gill invited 12 artists and collectives, mainly from South Asia, to think about how everyday built environments can offer portals to other worlds, whether through devotional drawings by artists such as Ladhki Devi or by paying attention to how animals make their own homes in urban settings.
Featuring artists Mariam Suhail, Meera Mukherjee and Shefalee Jain, the show was curated in dialogue with Ishara director Sabih Ahmed.
Etel Adnan Exhibition
Location: Ithra – King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Date: February 2-June 29
Ithra, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, is hosting the first major retrospective of the Lebanese-American artist Etel Adnan in the kingdom.
Curated by Sebastien Delot from the Musee National Picasso-Paris, the exhibition will be one of the most comprehensive to date of the artist, who died aged 96 in 2021. Featuring more than forty of her works, the retrospective will include paintings, written work, artists’ books (or leporellos), tapestries and ceramics, made over the course of her long career.
Vikram Divecha: Short Circuits
Location: Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai
Date: February 1-June 16
The Jameel Arts Centre presents the first survey show of the artist Vikram Divecha, who moved to Dubai in 2005 and is now one of the UAE’s most established artists. Curated by Dawn Ross and Lucas Morin, the Jameel show will look at Divecha’s work since 2013, focusing on his investigations of the different social and built systems around us.
Desert X AlUla: In the Presence of Absence
Location: AlUla, Saudi Arabia
Date: February 9-March 23
Desert X AlUla is a temporary exhibition of works installed in north-west Saudi Arabia, with commissions by international, regional and Saudi artists around the themes of the imperceptible and hidden.
The exhibition, now in its third year and a sister to the original Desert X event in the Californian desert, was the first to bring contemporary artworks to the tourist and cultural site AlUla.
This year’s programme is curated by Maya El Khalil, an eminent figure in the region, and Marcello Dantas, the Brazilian documentary filmmaker. Having moved to a new site, it will be housed in venues such as the mountain of Harrat Uwayrid and the former AlManshiyah Railway Station.
Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale: After Rain
Location: Jax District, Riyadh
Date: February 20-May 24
The second Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale will explore the relationship between humans and the environment.
Led by the well-known Ute Meta Bauer – who was the founding director of the Office for Contemporary Art in Oslo and subsequently the Centre for Contemporary Art in Singapore (which she still heads) – the exhibition takes in feminism, ecology and complex historical narratives.
The show will bring 85 Saudi and international artists to Riyadh’s new Jax district, where the Diriyah Biennale Foundation has erected its permanent buildings. Artists include the late Emirati artist Hassan Sharif, the pioneering US feminist artist Joan Jonas, as well as Safeya Binzagr, known as the mother of Saudi art.
Lala Rukh: In the Round
Location: Sharjah Art Foundation, Al Mureijah Art Spaces
Date: February 24-June 16
Late artist Lala Rukh from Lahore was a major minimalist artist and feminist organiser, who expanded the impact of both these practices through her long-standing work in education.
Now, the Sharjah Art Foundation will survey her career via more than 50 drawings, prints, photographs, videos and animations. Put together by SAF’s director Hoor Al Qasimi and Natasha Ginwala, one of curators of the next Sharjah Biennial, the exhibition features both Rukh’s careful, exacting works on paper and how they contrast with the directness of her political work.
Inspired by music as much as the rhythms of water and the moon, her work will be fully explored for the first time in this retrospective.
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How Beautiful this world is!
Fight card
Preliminaries:
Nouredine Samir (UAE) v Sheroz Kholmirzav (UZB); Lucas Porst (SWE) v Ellis Barboza (GBR); Mouhmad Amine Alharar (MAR) v Mohammed Mardi (UAE); Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) v Spyro Besiri (GRE); Aslamjan Ortikov (UZB) v Joshua Ridgwell (GBR)
Main card:
Carlos Prates (BRA) v Dmitry Valent (BLR); Bobirjon Tagiev (UZB) v Valentin Thibaut (FRA); Arthur Meyer (FRA) v Hicham Moujtahid (BEL); Ines Es Salehy (BEL) v Myriame Djedidi (FRA); Craig Coakley (IRE) v Deniz Demirkapu (TUR); Artem Avanesov (ARM) v Badreddine Attif (MAR); Abdulvosid Buranov (RUS) v Akram Hamidi (FRA)
Title card:
Intercontinental Lightweight: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) v Angel Marquez (ESP)
Intercontinental Middleweight: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) v Francesco Iadanza (ITA)
Asian Featherweight: Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) v Phillip Delarmino (PHI)
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
