Amid Regional Uncertainty, Art Dubai Presses Ahead with 20th Anniversary Edition
Alongside the fair, the Alserkal art district has announced the expansion of its annual art week to a five-week programme. Majlis Talks in The Yard, April 2025. Courtesy Alserkal.
As the United Arab Emirates’ growing cultural sector navigates a turbulent period, Art Dubai, one of the first art fairs in the Gulf, is pressing ahead with its 20th anniversary edition, and has this week announced its full programme.
Last month, following the outbreak of the US-Israel war in Iran and the spread of conflict across the Middle East, the milestone edition was postponed and transitioned to a modified format. The adapted “special edition” of the fair will now return to Madinat Jumeirah from 15–17 May, and will feature more than 45 gallery presentations, alongside a programme of exhibitions, installations and performances.
Benedetta Ghione, Art Dubai Group’s executive director, said: “This special edition will demonstrate the resilience of the UAE’s cultural scene as well as the power of collaboration, bringing together galleries, artists and institutions at a time when that role of convening feels more important than ever.”
She added:“Current circumstances mean that this may not be what we had planned to mark our 20th edition, but the galleries and wider programmes represent what makes Art Dubai both unique and special.”
The number of participants at this year’s fair has decreased significantly from its usual average of 120, with around 60 percent hailing from Dubai or the surrounding region. However, a handful of galleries are still slated to make the journey from London, Hong Kong and Paris.
To reflect the economic pressures currently faced by many galleries, and the risks currency associated with travelling to the fair, this year has seen the introduction of a new risk-sharing model, through which galleries’ booth costs in the Bawwaba (“gateway”) section of Art Dubai are payable based on sales success.
However, conflict continues to shape the fair’s logistical context: foreign airlines are currently limited to a single daily service to Dubai until 31 May, with some carriers cancelling or suspending flights (for example, KLM has suspended flights until 14 June). Tourism in the city has also seen a notable decline.
In response, the fair’s programme has been bolstered by an expanded institutional partner network, including Art Jameel, the Sharjah Art Foundation and the Dubai Collection.
Made Forward is a major presentation from the Dubai Collection—the city’s first institutional collection of modern and contemporary art—and an exhibition of modern Arab art from the Barjeel Art Foundation, featuring highlights from the collection.
The Sharjah Art Foundation will offer a performance-led programme, while a selection of large-scale installations, new commissions and site-responsive artworks will be integrated across the fair. Exhibiting artists will include Khalid Al Banna, Hashel Al Lamki, Rashid Bin Shabib and Ahmed Bin Shabib, Rami Farook, Kevork Mourad, Yaw Owusu, Neda Razavipour and Sudarshan Shetty.
Alexie Glass-Kantor, executive director, curatorial at Art Dubai Group, described this year’s guiding theme as “things we do together”, centring the programme on “how artists, galleries, institutions and audiences come into relationship across the fair”, with a focus on “creating an experience that feels connected and open”.
In the run-up to Art Dubai, and in response to the current uncertainty, the Alserkal art district has announced the expansion of its annual art week to a five-week programme, designed to support artists, galleries and cultural practitioners in the region.
The art month will run from 18 April–18 May at Alserkal Avenue—a cultural district in Dubai spanning around 46,450 square metres (500,000 square feet) and home to almost 100 creative businesses.
The programme features 16 gallery exhibitions, more than 100 public programmes and a moving-image collaboration co-curated with Art Dubai. Highlights include Déjà vu at Concrete (25 April–8 May), featuring artists from 12 UAE galleries, and the unveiling of a newly commissioned public artwork by Shilpa Gupta, titled Still A Sky We Hold.
Vilma Jurkute, executive director of Alserkal, described the month-long event as “rooted in shared values”. She said it reflects a deliberate effort to sustain cultural production in the region, creating space “for collaboration, dialogue and exchange at a time when that feels especially important”.
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