DUBAI: Art Dubai has announced the first details of its 20th anniversary edition, set to take place from April 17–19, with 36 first-time exhibitors taking part along with a new fair section.
The 2026 edition of the art fair introduces a reconfigured programme built around the theme “Future, Past, Present” under newly appointed fair director Dunja Gottweis.
Art Dubai 2026 will feature more than 100 modern, contemporary and digital presentations from more than 35 countries. Five gallery sections form the core of the fair: Art Dubai Galleries, Zamaniyyat, Bawwaba, Art Dubai Digital, and the newly launched Bawwaba Extended, a platform dedicated to large-scale immersive installations.
The fair welcomes 36 first-time exhibitors and will see increased representation from Africa and Latin America, alongside notable returns from galleries in Morocco, Turkey, Jordan and India.
More than half of this year’s exhibitors hail from the MENASA region, including 25 based in Dubai.
Zamaniyyat, curated by Dr. Sarah A. Rifky, revisits global modernism through presentations spanning the 1950s to the 1990s. Bawwaba, led by Amal Khalaf, focuses on newly produced solo projects from emerging and mid-career artists, supported this year by a new gallery support programme that offers a shared-risk model for participants.
Art Dubai Digital, curated by Ulrich Schrauth and Nadine Khalil, returns with an expanded framework under the theme “Myth of the Digital,” asserting digital and immersive art as a central component of contemporary cultural discourse. Its 2026 edition features leading international names including Marina Abramović, Six N Five, Morehshin Allahyari and Rachel Rossin, alongside emerging regional voices.
“This year’s revamped gallery sections and ‘Future, Past, Present’ framework continues our commitment to this region’s unique historical context, to ultra contemporary and evolving practices, as well as to innovative and future-facing approaches,” Gottweis said in a released statement.
