the leading Middle East’s international art fair

The 16^th edition of Art Dubai, the leading Middle East’s international art fair, will take place on 1-5 March 2023 in Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah.

The leading global platform for art and artists from the Middle East and Global South, Art Dubai’s 16^th edition will present over 100 galleries from 43 countries across four gallery sections: Contemporary, Modern, Bawwaba and Art Dubai Digital. The 2023 fair will include 30 first-time participants and over 60% of the gallery programme is drawn from the Global South, reaffirming Art Dubai’s position as the leading marketplace for art from this region. 

Art Dubai Contemporary presents the very best in cutting-edge contemporary art from 72 galleries from 33 countries, with particular focus on art and artists from the Global South. For our 16^th edition, we are pleased to welcome 16 first-time exhibitors, including Art: Concept (Paris), Barakat Contemporary (Seoul), First Floor (Harare) and kó (Lagos), Piedras (Buenos Aires), Shrine Empire (New Delhi), Barbara Thumm (Berlin). We welcome more South Asian and African galleries than ever before, and we also welcome back 12 galleries who are returning to Art Dubai after a hiatus. These include ALBAREH ART GALLERY (Manama), Ruth Benzacar Galería de Arte (Buenos Aires), Chemould Prescott Road (Mumbai), Taymour Grahne Projects (London), GVCC (Casablanca), October (London), and Project 88 (Mumbai). The 2023 edition of Art Dubai will feature 21 Dubai-based galleries, more than ever before, reflecting the continued growth of Dubai’s artistic ecosystem and the Emirate’s increasing importance as a global creative and cultural hub. 

Curated by Singapore-based educator and arts writer Clara Che Wei Peh, the expanded 2023 edition of Art Dubai Digital welcomes galleries with innovative new media programmes, as well as digital platforms building virtual art spaces, alongside artist collectives, Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) and traditional bricks and mortar galleries that challenge and push forward new models for artistic production and support. New presentations at Art Dubai Digital 2023 will include Lian Foundation; 6529 with their decentralized Open Metaverse project; and UAE First Immersion, a presentation of new artworks by some of the leading names in crypto art, produced after they visited the UAE for the first time in November 2022, presented in collaboration with MORROW Collective. The presentation will feature new works by artists including Coldie, Colborn Bell, Monaris, Bryan Brinkman, Kirk Finkel, and Raphael Torres, and the works will be made available first to collectors at Art Dubai 2023. 

Bangkok-based Vipash Purichanont curates the 2023 edition of Art Dubai’s Bawwaba section. Meaning ‘gateway’ in Arabic, Bawwaba exclusively features artworks made in the past year or specifically for Art Dubai, and comprises solo presentations by 11 artists hailing from across the Global South. Across a variety of mediums, from painting and tapestry to filmmaking and performance, this section explores how contemporary artists from the Global South bring forth concerns within their worlds, from socio-cultural issues such as the tension between rapid urban development and traditional values, the legacy of colonisation on environment, human relationships in the age of hyperconnectivity, or personal concerns around the meaning of language and void. Participating galleries and artists include: Circle Art Gallery (Nairobi) with Dickens Otieno; PARLIAMENT (Paris) with Achraf Touloub; Silverlens Galleries (Manila / New York) with Gregory Halili; Yeo Workshop (Singapore) with Maryanto; and Hunna Art Gallery (Abu Dhabi Sharjah) with Moza Almatrooshi. 

The 2023 edition of Art Dubai Modern is curated by Paris-based critic and curator Mouna Mekouar and Italian art historian Lorenzo Giusti (director, GAMeC, Bergamo) and features solo presentations by the region’s Modern masters, reinforcing Art Dubai’s commitment to curatorial scholarship and art historical research. The selection focuses on the pioneers of contemporary art in the MENASA area, whose works are retrospectively playing a key role in today’s art and, by extension, a key role in art history and reflecting the cultural richness and diversity of the region. Art Dubai Modern will be accompanied by a special talks programme, 

At the centre of the fair’s not-for-profit programme is Art Dubai Commissions, a platform that invites artists to produce site-specific works at the fair, supporting artistic production by local and international artists. Taking place in a purpose-built space, the 2023 Commissions programme will comprise daily performances and food-based experiences that will explore themes of community, celebration, hope, and connection. Featured artists will include: Prajakta Potnis (Project 88), Gunjan Kumar (Exhibit 320), Anoli Perera and Tayeba Begum Lipi (Shrine Empire). The programme is developed in close collaboration with leading institutions who are playing a key role in supporting artists and artistic production in South Asia and partners will include: Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation in collaboration with Britto Arts Trust, Ishara Art Foundation, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Kochi-Muziris Biennale and Samdani Art Foundation. 

In the second year of collaboration with Art Dubai, 421, Abu Dhabi’s independent platform supporting emerging artists, will present a group exhibition curated by UAE-based artist and researcher Dania Al Tamimi. Featuring artworks that pose the question: does time move through you, or do you move through time?, the exhibition will explore time as the binding element of the biography of objects, the active archive of lives, and the solidifying catalyst of experiences. 

The 16th edition of Art Dubai’s celebrated transdisciplinary conference Global Art Forum, commissioned by Shumon Basar, will explore the theme “Predicting the Present” and will consider the central question: if it’s the end of history and the end of the future, what happens next? Highlighting the important role played by collectors and philanthropists in the development of the region’s cultural infrastructure, Art Dubai’s programme will also include a series of high-level Collector and Modern Talks, presented in partnership with Dubai Collection, the first institutional art collection in the city and for the city. The fair’s conference programme will expand in 2023 to include the first Dubai edition of Christie’s Art+Tech summit.

Art Dubai is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The event is held in partnership with A.R.M. Holding. The fair is sponsored by Swiss Wealth Management Group Julius Baer. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is the fair’s strategic partner. 

About Art Dubai

Founded in 2007, Art Dubai is the premier platform to see and buy modern and contemporary art from the Global South. Across its Contemporary, Modern and Digital gallery sections, annual artist commissions and year-round collector and education programmes, Art Dubai champions art and artists from across the Global South, providing a relevant and increasingly important alternative to mainstream, largely Western-led narratives. 

The leading global platform for art and artists from the Middle East and Global South, Art Dubai’s 16^th edition will present over 120 participants from more than 40 countries and six continents across four gallery sections: Contemporary, Modern, Bawwaba and Art Dubai Digital. The gallery programme is complemented by newly commissioned artworks by the region’s leading artists, and an extensive and multidisciplinary talks and education programme.

Alongside the annual Art Dubai art fair, which takes place each spring, Art Dubai has an extensive year-round education and commissioning programme, working in close collaboration with local and regional partners to deliver ambitious cultural programming across the city. 

Art Dubai is held in partnership with A.R.M. Holding. The fair is sponsored by Swiss Wealth Management Group Julius Baer. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is the fair’s strategic partner. Madinat Jumeirah is the home of Art Dubai. 

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