Art Dubai returns to Madinat Jumeirah this week, from 14 to 17 May 2026, for a special edition marking 20 years of the fair. The anniversary arrives in a revised format after the edition was moved from its original April dates in response to the regional conflict, with around 50 galleries and a programme shaped around the artists, collectors, institutions and cultural networks that have defined Dubai’s art scene.
Founded in 2007, Art Dubai has long held a particular place on the international art calendar. It is one of the few major fairs to place the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia at the centre of the conversation. For its 20th anniversary, that role is especially visible. This edition brings together gallery presentations, private collections, modern Arab art, moving image, performance, talks, commissions and design.
The gallery programme includes Dubai-based names such as The Third Line, Lawrie Shabibi, Tabari Artspace, Meem Gallery, Aisha Alabbar Gallery and Carbon 12, alongside regional and international galleries including Ab-Anbar, Ayyam Gallery, Efie Gallery, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Perrotin, Gallery One, Waddington Custot, Galleria Continua and Pedro Cera. Among the highlights is Ab-Anbar’s return to Art Dubai for the first time since 2019, with a presentation bringing together Douglas Abdell, Dima Srouji, Jananne Al-Ani and Majid Fathizadeh around memory, displacement and cultural continuity.
Two major collection-led projects anchor the edition. Barjeel Art Foundation presents Pulse, an exhibition of 20 masterpieces from its collection, with works by Mahmoud Said, Samia Halaby, Mohamed Melehi and Safeya Binzagr, among others. Dubai Collection presents Made Forward, drawn from over 20 private collections and featuring artists from West Asia, North Africa and South Asia, including Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Brahim Dhahak and Leila Nseir. Together, they place collecting, patronage and modern regional art at the centre of the anniversary.
The wider programme extends across Madinat Jumeirah and beyond. Large-scale installations include works by Khalid Al Banna, Yaw Owusu, Hashel Al Lamki, Kevork Mourad and Sudarshan Shetty. Moving, co-curated by Art Dubai and Alserkal, presents moving-image works across both venues, while Sharjah Art Foundation’s Against Stillness brings live performance into the fair through sound, movement and interdisciplinary practice.
Talks remain central to the programme, with Global Art Forum, Dubai Collection Talks, Modern Talks, Collector Talks and artist conversations hosted in the HUNA Talks space. There is also DXB Store, a pop-up dedicated to regionally rooted objects, design pieces and limited-edition works by UAE-based creatives.
The strength of this edition lies in the way it gathers the fair’s wider ecosystem, galleries, patrons, foundations, artists, archives, design platforms and institutional partners, together. At 20, Art Dubai offers a clear view of the structures that have helped build Dubai’s cultural landscape, and the people continuing to shape its next chapter.
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