Art Dubai 2025: JDEED’s Guide to the Region’s Most Anticipated Cultural Gathering

As April approaches, the art world turns its gaze to Dubai—where once again, Madinat Jumeirah will host the region’s most exhilarating celebration of global creativity: Art Dubai.

From April 18–20, with previews on the 16th and 17th, the fair returns with over 120 galleries from more than 40 countries, establishing once more why it remains the Middle East’s most important art gathering.

For JDEED, Art Dubai is not just another art fair—it’s an annual pilgrimage. A moment where local stories meet global narratives, where the past merges with the future, and where culture finds its sharpest edge. This year, we're bringing you along for the ride—navigating commissions, digital wonders, performance art, and talks that define the zeitgeist.

Where to Begin: The Gallery Sections That Matter

Art Dubai Contemporary is the fair’s beating heart. With a dynamic line-up featuring regional heavyweights like The Third Line, Meem Gallery, and Leila Heller Gallery, alongside international newcomers like Pedro Cera (Lisbon/Madrid) and Richard Saltoun (London/Rome/New York), this section is your best bet to discover emerging stars and established names in one breathless sweep.

For those drawn to the digital frontier, Art Dubai Digital continues to push the boundaries. Curated by Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, this year’s theme, “After the Technological Sublime,” explores how AI, quantum computing, and immersive tech challenge not only our senses but our sense of ethics. Highlights include kinetic marvels by BREAKFAST Studio, AI-dreamscapes by Istanbul’s Ouchhh Studio, and local innovation via Hybrid Xperience and Dubai-based Monada Art Gallery x 10101.art.

Then there’s Bawwaba—“gateway” in Arabic—curated by Kunsthaus Zürich’s Mirjam Varadinis, offering solo presentations reflecting on displacement, climate change, and new models of coexistence. Look out for Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno at Pinksummer and Nina Kintsurashvili at Gallery Artbeat.

And of course, we always make time for Art Dubai Modern. Co-curated by Magalí Arriola and Nada Shabout, this section foregrounds 20th-century masters from the Arab world and beyond, with seminal works by Ibrahim El-Salahi, Laila Shawa, and Darío Pérez Flores. This is where you trace the roots of contemporary practice, and understand where we’ve come from.

Not-to-Miss: Commissions, Installations, and Performances

It wouldn’t be Art Dubai without a strong performance and public art component. 2025 sees Mexican artist Héctor Zamora take over with site-specific performances involving terracotta vessels—exploring ritual, resistance, and material memory. His collaboration with Alserkal Avenue also marks a new co-commissioning platform between the two institutions.

Mohammed Kazem’s Directions (Merging) is a Julius Baer–commissioned digital installation placing Dubai at the center of a shifting universe. It’s immersive, poetic, and deeply tied to the city’s identity as a place of perpetual convergence.

Over at the Digital section, Jacopo Di Cera’s glacier-inspired Retreat, and Ania Soliman’s five-metre-high Kahrabaa canvases—made with artificial plants and water—delve into climate anxiety, memory, and transformation. These aren’t just installations—they’re provocations.

Talks, Forums, and JDEED’s Learning Moments

What we’re most excited for? The Global Art Forum 2025, titled The New New Normal. Hosted by cultural theorist Shumon Basar and curated by the boundary-pushing duo Y7, this year’s edition features names like architect Rem Koolhaas and artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan. Expect conversations on AI, gamified economies, cultural geopolitics, and even the future of beauty—because everything is art, and art is everything.

The second Digital Summit, hosted in partnership with Dubai Culture, will further interrogate the role of tech in the cultural realm. And for those more invested in the collector side, Collector Talks offer intimate insights into the psychology of collecting in our disrupted times.

Who’s Steering the Ship?

2025 also marks a shift in leadership. Dunja Gottweis, former Global Head of Gallery Relations at Art Basel, joins as the incoming Fair Director, while Alexie Glass-Kantor (Artspace Sydney, Art Basel Hong Kong) steps in as Executive Director, Curatorial. Together, they bring an ambitious new vision—fusing global art world clout with a deeper regional sensitivity.

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JDEED's Art Dubai Rituals

So how do we do Art Dubai? With stamina—and style. Morning begins with a slow wander through the Bawwaba section, where each booth feels like a world in itself. Midday, we linger at the Digital Summit, notebook in hand. Then it’s time for installations—immersive, disorienting, and often unforgettable. Evenings? We recharge with gallery dinners, artist talks, and offsite shows. And of course, there’s always the JDEED camera in hand, capturing the people who make this city’s art scene so fiercely alive.

More than just an art fair, Art Dubai is where borders blur—between disciplines, identities, geographies, and ideas. It’s where you witness the past in dialogue with the possible. And in 2025, it promises to be more layered, more daring, and more regionally resonant than ever.

We'll be there—see you in the aisles.

More info and tickets on ArtDubai.ae

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Cover picture/Abdullah Al Othman Manifesto The Language and the city 2021 Neon wall installation 500 x 800 cm Courtesy of the artist and Iris Projects Commissioned by Diriyah Biennale Foundation With the support of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation

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