Art Dubai closed its 20th anniversary special edition at Madinat Jumeirah after bringing together galleries, institutions, artists and cultural platforms that have helped shape the UAE’s creative growth over the past two decades.
Held from May 15-17, with a press preview on May 14, the fair returned in a modified format and offered free public entry with the support of Dubai Culture.
The edition featured more than 100 presentations from commercial galleries, institutional participants and partners, while placing contemporary, modern and digital practices within a wider conversation about Dubai’s role as a meeting point for regional and international art.
A view from the gallery section of Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Koray Erdogan/Türkiye Today)
Fair shaped by discovery, not only reputation
Speaking to Türkiye Today during the press preview, Art Dubai Fair Director Dunja Gottweis said the fair continued to build itself around discovery, especially through emerging artists and younger galleries from the region.
She pointed to presentations including Hashel Al Lamki, Roudhah Al Mazrouei, Wafa Al Falahi and Alyazia Al Nahyan as examples of how the fair brought new voices into dialogue with established regional practices. Their works, she said, moved across landscapes, memory, identity, abstraction and natural materials, showing how younger artists are working through local histories in contemporary forms.
Gottweis said Art Dubai should leave visitors with an experience they had not expected. “I want people to leave with something that they did not even know they were looking for,” she told Türkiye Today.
Dunja Gottweis, Director of Art Dubai Fair, and Türkiye Today’s Koray Erdogan during the press preview of Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Türkiye Today team)
Dubai’s global character reflected through art
Gottweis also linked the fair’s structure to Dubai’s multicultural identity, saying the city’s more than 200 nationalities naturally shaped Art Dubai’s international outlook.
She said galleries from around 20 countries joined this year’s edition, while long-standing participants from Dubai, the UAE, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Europe reflected the fair’s two-decade history.
According to Gottweis, Art Dubai has remained rooted in the region while staying connected to the world. She said the fair mirrored Dubai itself: global, diverse and open to many cultural positions at once.
A view from the gallery section of Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Koray Erdogan/Türkiye Today)
Blue Mosque memory shapes Art Dubai director’s view
Gottweis also reflected on an early visit to Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultanahmet Mosque, saying it had shaped her understanding of art, architecture, design and public space.
She said that early experience continued to guide her approach to the art world, including her current role at Art Dubai. For her, the connection between art, design, architecture and gathering remained central to the way a fair can bring people together.
Visitors view artworks during Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Cedric Ribeiro/Art Dubai)
Art Dubai as platform for regional markets
Hala Khayat, special advisor at Art Dubai, told Türkiye Today that the fair carried a major responsibility because it had helped create a regional meeting point for artists, galleries, collectors and art professionals.
Khayat said Art Dubai emerged at a time when artists and collectors from across the region didn’t have a single marketplace where they could gather regularly. She described the fair as a platform that brought together artistic scenes from Türkiye, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, India, Pakistan and beyond.
She said the fair also supported a wider creative economy, including art logistics, shipping, handling, insurance, framing, journalism and publishing.
Hala Khayat, Special Advisor at Art Dubai, and Türkiye Today’s Koray Erdogan at Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Türkiye Today team)
Turkish art seen through Dubai
Khayat said Art Dubai had played a role in introducing Turkish contemporary art to wider regional audiences. She said she first encountered Turkish contemporary art at Art Dubai before later working with Turkish artists and galleries.
She noted that collectors often begin by buying art from their own countries, but gradually move toward neighboring regions when they see shared themes. According to Khayat, works from Türkiye, Syria, Iraq and Iran often deal with similar issues, including migration, displacement, women’s experiences and identity.
This, she said, allows collectors to see different countries through connected stories rather than isolated national scenes.
A view from the gallery section of Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Koray Erdogan/Türkiye Today)
Younger collectors bring digital art into fair
Khayat said younger collectors in the Middle East are engaging with art through education, global classrooms and digital culture.
She said many young people who came to Art Dubai as children have grown into adults who now study art history, archaeology or journalism, or take part in the creative industries. She also said Dubai’s younger generation often grows up in classrooms shaped by many nationalities, which affects how they look at identity, belonging and collecting.
Khayat added that some young collectors who work in crypto and new financial technologies are drawn to digital art, while older collectors are also beginning to engage with digital practices through the fair.
A view of “Nation 2.0” at Art Dubai Digital during Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Koray Erdogan/Türkiye Today)
Digital section explores power, data and behavior
One of the digital highlights was “Nation 2.0,” presented at Art Dubai Digital 2026 and curated by Giuseppe Moscatello for Foundry’s first participation in the fair.
Speaking to Türkiye Today, Moscatello said the project brought together artists and collectives including Sasha Sime, Nation 2.0, Fakewhale Studio and Scerbo. He said the installation explored human conditions, space, the natural environment, data and information.
Giuseppe Moscatello and Türkiye Today’s Koray Erdogan at the “Nation 2.0” installation in Art Dubai Digital during Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Türkiye Today team)
Moscatello described the central sculpture as an installation that connected data and computing systems with the natural element of the sun. He said the work referred to the idea of data as “the new oil,” while its golden structure suggested the systems that hold society together.
He said the project invited visitors to think about how societies and cultures develop modern internal systems, and how human behavior changes within those evolving structures.
Visitors view artworks during Art Dubai’s 20th anniversary special edition at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE, May 14, 2026. (Photo via Cedric Ribeiro/Art Dubai)
Institutions expand anniversary programme
Beyond the gallery presentations, the anniversary edition included exhibitions, installations, performances, screenings, talks and institutional collaborations.
Program highlights included works from the Dubai Collection, modern Arab masterpieces from the Barjeel Art Foundation collection, moving image works presented with Alserkal Avenue, a performance-led program with Sharjah Art Foundation, and the 20th edition of the Global Art Forum, titled “Before and After Everything.”
Alexie Glass-Kantor, executive director, curatorial, at the Art Dubai Group, said, “Things we do together” had served as a guiding thread for the program, shaping how artists, galleries, institutions and audiences came into relation across the fair.
Founded in 2007, Art Dubai has developed as one of the Middle East’s leading art fairs, with a focus on contemporary, modern and digital practices. Its 20th anniversary edition looked back on that history while also foregrounding the galleries, institutions and creative communities that continue to shape the region’s cultural ecosystem.
The fair was held under the patronage of Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Dubai Culture served as strategic partner, while A.R.M. Holding presented the fair in partnership with Art Dubai. HUNA also joined as a partner, and Madinat Jumeirah remained the fair’s home.
May 19, 2026 09:48 AM GMT+03:00
