Gulf Countries: The Rush for Art

To the Gulf states! After long hesitating to venture into the Middle East, major art fairs are lining up to announce their arrival in the region. The latest is Frieze, which has confirmed that it will take over Abu Dhabi Art next year. Details of the revamped format remain under wraps. One certainty: the final edition under its current name will be held from 19 to 23 November 2025. Frieze will keep both the dates and location in 2026—the Manarat Al Saadiyat center in the heart of the UAE capital’s cultural district—as well as the fair’s current director, Dyala Nusseibeh.

In the meantime, all eyes will be on Doha in February next year. With 87 exhibitors, Art Basel Qatar will be a small-scale event compared to the 289 galleries that take over the halls in Basel every year. More importantly, under the artistic direction of Egyptian artist Wael Shawky, the fair will present curated exhibitions.

In other words, the traditional booth-as-boutique model showcasing dozens of artists will disappear. Instead, each gallery will present a monographic display on the theme of “Becoming,” spread across the M7 exhibition center, the Doha Design District, and Msheireb Downtown Doha. Time will tell whether this trial run becomes a long-distance race.

For dealers, these openings naturally spark enthusiasm at a moment when the global economic climate is heading into what promises to be a long winter. China is struggling to return to its pre-Covid state, Russia is under sanctions and consumed by war, the erratic posture of the United States raises concerns, and crisis-hit Europe is scrambling to find new commercial opportunities. In contrast, the Gulf feels like paradise, where the sun seems permanent and capital unlimited—Emirati and Qatari authorities are investing lavishly in culture to burnish their image as tolerant states.

Qatar has launched its “2030 National Vision,” aimed at diversifying the economy and strengthening its role in high-value creative and cultural industries. As part of this effort, the government has just announced the construction of the region’s largest high-security storage and logistics hub dedicated to fine arts and design. This ambitious freeport will include conservation and storage facilities, a restoration workshop, private and shared viewing rooms, as well as bonded warehouses for the handling and transit of artworks. The project is being developed jointly by GWC (Q.P.S.C.), Qatar’s leading logistics and supply chain provider, and QC+, a group active in culture, hospitality, and tourism, which is also partnering with Art Basel Qatar alongside Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), active in sport, culture, entertainment, and lifestyle.

A critical question remains: can Frieze Abu Dhabi and Art Basel Qatar—two fairs staged three months apart, in November and February respectively—both be viable, for exhibitors as well as collectors? Especially given that Art Dubai, launched in 2007, will take place from 17 to 19 April 2026, and that the three hosting cities are geographically extremely close. Unsurprisingly, the full cast of heavyweight galleries able to withstand the growing number of international fair commitments will be present at Art Basel Qatar: Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, David Zwirner, and White Cube. They will be joined by Karma International, Almine Rech, Lisson Gallery, Continua, and regionally established galleries including Green Art Gallery, Pilot Galeri, Gallery Misr, Loft Art Gallery, Athr Gallery, and Munich-based Tanit, which also has a location in Beirut.

In an art market already saturated with international fairs, difficult choices will have to be made, particularly by galleries whose resources—both artistic and financial—are not limitless. “The growing activity in the Gulf reflects both the dynamism of the region’s cultural landscape and the potential of its market. I see a moment of expansion, not saturation,” says Noah Horowitz, CEO of Art Basel, in The Art Newspaper. “Our first criterion was timing: we wanted a moment that could attract an international audience, and a fair in early February, before Art Basel Hong Kong in May, is ideal.”

For Simon Fox, CEO of Frieze, Abu Dhabi represents the region’s most compelling market, thanks to major institutional projects recently opened or underway on Saadiyat Island—particularly the long-delayed Guggenheim outpost, which is finally approaching completion. And although he acknowledges that corporate patronage in the UAE remains limited and the number of major private collections is still small, his confidence is unwavering. “We don’t need more purchasing power than what already exists,” he says. “It has been enough to sustain Abu Dhabi Art’s growth over the past seventeen years. We are committed to a long-term vision.”

Frieze—already present in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Seoul—can build on a fair with nearly twenty years of history. That is not the case for Art Basel Qatar, which in Doha starts from a blank slate, though it can rely on the strength of Art Basel’s global network. “When we expanded to Miami Beach, Hong Kong, and Paris, we entered markets with already mature dynamics,” continues Noah Horowitz. “In Doha, we are responding to a vision and to a country that has made long-term cultural investment a fundamental aspect of its national identity. We are not duplicating our fairs: with Art Basel Qatar, we are co-creating something new with our partners—something that reflects the local ecosystem while connecting it to Art Basel’s international network. Qatar perfectly illustrates our role in the world: not as an exporter of a model, but as a collaborator in defining what an art fair can mean in a new cultural context.”

For both organizers, the Gulf is a bet. But in this game, there may ultimately be only one winner.