Art Dubai has announced the first participants for its 20th anniversary fair, which will return to Madinat Jumeirah from April 17 to 19, with previews on April 15 and 16.
Art Dubai's 2026 event – the first under new fair director Dunja Gottweis – will feature more than 100 modern, contemporary and digital presentations from more than 35 countries. Organisers say the fair has been restructured around a new curatorial framework, Future, Past, Present, with five sections: Art Dubai Galleries, Zamaniyyat, Bawwaba, Art Dubai Digital and the newly introduced, Bawwaba Extended.
Thirty-six exhibitors will take part for the first time, including galleries from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North America, Latin America and Africa. Participation from Africa has more than doubled compared to last year, while several galleries from Morocco, Turkey, Jordan and India are returning after a hiatus. More than half of the participants are from the Mena region, including 25 galleries with permanent spaces in Dubai.
Gottweis said the revamped structure reflects the fair’s aim to highlight both the region’s historical context and new, future-facing practices. “Dubai is the long-established centre of the region’s expanding art market,” she said. “The range and quality of applications we received for next year’s edition reflects the excitement and opportunity of the moment.”
The main Galleries section will present contemporary and modern practices from around the world. First-time exhibitors include Galerie Frank Elbaz, ChertLudde, Labor and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, while returning galleries include Selma Feriani Gallery, Gajah Gallery, Ab-Anbar Gallery, Loft Art Gallery and Galerie Atiss Dakar, which will share a booth with Space Un of Japan.
Zamaniyyat, curated by Sarah A Rifky, will focus on modernist movements from the 1950s–1990s, tracing how ideas travelled through art schools, publications and institutions across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and beyond. Eleven galleries will take part, with presentations exploring modernism in Palestine, North Africa, India, Lebanon, Egypt and Europe.
Bawwaba, curated by Amal Khalaf, returns with solo presentations of newly produced works by emerging to mid-career artists. Themes of belonging, movement and knowledge-making run through this year’s selection, with artists from Senegal, Jordan, France, the UAE and Romania among the highlights. All participating galleries will be included in a new Bawwaba Gallery Support Programme, which allows them to pay part of their booth fee after the fair, depending on sales.
Art Dubai Digital, now in its fifth year and curated by Ulrich Schrauth and Nadine Khalil, will expand its focus on immersive and installation-led digital practices. Titled Myth of the Digital, it brings together established and emerging artists, including Marina Abramovic, Six N Five, Rachel Rossin, Morehshin Allahyari, Daniel Iregui, Fatma Lootah and Sulaiman Al Salem.
The fair will also introduce Bawwaba Extended, a new platform for large-scale installations and public artworks curated by Khalaf and Alexie Glass-Kantor. The initiative is open to galleries beyond the fair’s main sections and aims to support works that do not fit conventional art-fair formats. Details will be announced in January.
Further programme announcements, including institutional collaborations and commissions, will be made early next year.
