Galleries across the UAE are continuing to put on exhibitions and public programming during the current conflict, even as artist travel, shipping and collector behaviour become less predictable.
Some venues have extended shows or adjusted plans, while others are pressing ahead with modified events. And the gallery community has drawn closer as it navigates uncertain times.
“At moments like this, it feels important to sustain spaces for reflection and engagement,” says Kwame Mintah, co-founder and director of Dubai's Efie Gallery. The gallery is resuming its monthly film series with independent public library project Bootleg Griot on Friday, with a screening of Kathleen Collins’s 1982 film Losing Ground, one of the first major feature films directed by an African American woman.
“We are fortunate to be part of Alserkal Avenue, which represents a strong and supportive community within Dubai. Having peers and neighbours to exchange perspectives with has been invaluable during this time,” Mintah tells The National.
Sunny Rahbar, founder of The Third Line, says the gallery sector is “close-knit”, with venues checking in on one another and sharing information.
She adds that Alserkal Avenue, where The Third Line is located, has acted as a focal point for communication, providing safety guidelines, communal resources and publicity support.
Jean-David Malat, founder of JD Malat Gallery in Downtown Dubai and London's Mayfair, says galleries, artists, collectors and fair organisers have remained in regular contact.
A similar picture is emerging in Abu Dhabi. Maryam Al Falasi, founder of Iris Projects in MiZa, says there has been “an immediate, almost instinctive shift towards mutual support”, with galleries checking in on one another, sharing resources and exchanging practical advice, including insights to shipping and trade routes, while staying closely connected across the country.
She says support from M_39 workspace and studio in MiZa has helped the gallery maintain continuity even as more of its operations move online.
“Their understanding of the impact on cultural businesses at this time has made a meaningful difference, along with the direct support they have offered tenants as an immediate response to the current situation,” she says.
For programming, that has meant adapting rather than stopping. While Syrian artist Sara Naim’s trip to Dubai for the opening of her solo exhibition From the Perspective of Language was cancelled after the show was delayed due to current events, the exhibition itself is on display at the gallery. The Third Line also created an online viewing room for audiences unable to visit in person.
Rahbar says the change is visible in how visitors are moving through The Third Line. “Since the opening of the show on March 13, we’ve seen consistent footfall, albeit less compared to usual,” she says. “Those who stop by really spend their time with each work. While collectors have become more cautious, their engagement is not absent. Dubai remains a resilient hub, and we’re fortunate that there is still a strong base of local and regional engagement.”
An emphasis on continuity is also shaping decisions at newer galleries. Christelle Bassila, founder of The A/P Room Gallery in Alserkal Avenue, says moving forward with programming was an intentional choice.
“As a young gallery, it’s important for us to maintain momentum, support our artists and continue building dialogue with our audience,” she says. “Pausing entirely would not serve that purpose.”
Other galleries describe similar shifts. At Nika Project Space in Dubai, founder Veronika Berezina says the gallery remains fully operational, but is working more flexibly as logistics and planning become harder to predict. Its current exhibition by Nazilya Nagimova has been extended, and the gallery is preparing an open call for UAE artists for a summer residency.
“There has been a noticeable slowing in decision-making among collectors, which is understandable given the broader uncertainty,” Berezina says. “Conversations are still happening, but they tend to take longer to convert. That said, engagement has not disappeared – if anything, there is a more considered and intentional way in which collectors and institutions are approaching acquisitions and collaborations.”
Malat says travel and shipping have become more complex, while visitor numbers can fluctuate with the news cycle. Even so, he says serious collectors remain engaged.
“In uncertain periods, we often see collectors become more thoughtful and deliberate rather than stepping away completely,” he says. “Art is a long-term investment and a cultural asset, so the most committed collectors remain active even during periods of instability.”
For French gallerist Stephane Custot, who is participating in Art Basel Hong Kong and has operated a gallery in Alserkal since 2016, pushing forward is of paramount importance. “We are waiting for better days.”
Custot says his gallery remains open, and that staff who want to come in do so, while others stay at home. He says he remains committed to Dubai and to the UAE for the long term owing to its “energy, the mix of people, the cosmopolitan aspect. I will keep the gallery for long years, I’m sure.”
The same emphasis on continuity is shaping plans for Art Dubai, which several galleries say they are still preparing for after the fair was postponed to May. Custot confirms his gallery will take part – and adds that the UAE’s art community lobbied Art Dubai to continue with this year’s fair regardless of uncertainty.
“The community wanted and pushed Art Dubai to go on,” he says.
Iris Projects, The Third Line, Nika Project Space and JD Malat Gallery are moving ahead with their plans, even as logistics remain in flux and presentations may need to adapt.
“I believe that as long as we all continue to adapt, we will survive and thrive,” says Al Falasi.
For some galleries, keeping those plans in place is also a way of sustaining the city’s cultural life that, Malat says, “should not stop in difficult moments”, while Rahbar notes it remains important to maintain a platform for artists and support the broader art ecosystem in Dubai.
Al Falasi adds: “The gallery is a commercial space, but it is also a place for community and exchange between artists and audiences.”
Custot puts it more simply: “We have to be together in the UAE.”
