Venice Biennale 2026: Bana Kattan to lead UAE Pavilion
Tuscan flavors in Dubai, Sotheby’s $150m preview and Abu Dhabi’s $11.4b plan.
Welcome back to Al-Monitor Dubai.
This week we spotlight the appointment of an Abu Dhabi–based art expert to curate the National UAE Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2026, Sotheby’s showcase of $150 million in art in Abu Dhabi ahead of the New York auction season, and the opening of a new Italian restaurant in Dubai.
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Happy reading,
Rebecca
P.S. Have feedback or tips on Dubai's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.
1. Leading the week: Bana Kattan at Venice Biennale 2026
Bana Kattan by Dahlia Dandashi. (Courtesy of United Arab Emirates Pavilion, Venice Biennale)
Bana Kattan has been appointed curator of the National Pavilion UAE at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2026. She is curator and associate head of exhibitions at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Before joining the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Kattan served as associate curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where she curated exhibitions featuring multigenerational artists, including Wafaa Bilal (2025), Maryam Taghavi (2024), and Mona Hatoum (2023). At the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery she curated a research-driven exhibition program that included Permanent Temporariness by Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti (2018), exploring themes of displacement and identity, and But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Art Community, 1988–2008 (2017), which featured a group of pioneering Emirati artists and the interconnected nature of their community.
Born in Abu Dhabi and raised in the United Arab Emirates, Kattan is firmly connected to the country’s cultural landscape and has witnessed the impressive growth and evolution of its artistic community. Her work engages sociopolitical and historical themes while fostering dialogue among emerging and established artists across generations and disciplines.
“Having worked extensively in the region and alongside a wide range of multigenerational and transdisciplinary artists from the Arab world, I look forward to contributing my experience to a project that reflects the UAE’s vibrant artistic landscape while engaging with broader histories, complexities, and conversations,” said Kattan in a statement.
Date: May 9 – November 26, 2026
Location: Venice, Italy
Find more information here.
2. Word on the street: Vera Versilia
An aerial view of Vera Versilia. Courtesy of Vera Versilia.
Vera Versilia, the new Italian restaurant in the Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, takes its inspiration from the rustic charm of Tuscany’s northern coast. Led by executive chef Marco Garfagnini, it offers dishes featuring local ingredients and bold flavors celebrating fine Italian cuisine. The restaurant, which includes a pool deck nodding to Italian style, recently launched Vera by the Pool, extending its Tuscan flair outdoors.
Be sure to try the Arancini di Tonno, made with saffron arancini and spicy yellow fin tuna tartare, and the gnocchi with tomato, burrata and fresh basil if you’re opting for a leisurely lunch by the pool.
Location: Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates
Find more information here.
3. Dubai diary
Installation view of Whispers of the Past, Sotheby’s DIFC, 2025. Courtesy of Aisha Alabbar Art Gallery. Photo: Raymund Salinel
- “Whispers of the Past” at Sotheby’s Dubai
Organized by the Aisha Alabbar Gallery and Sotheby’s Dubai, “Whispers of the Past” presents works by Sara Aref Ahli, Khalid Al Banna, Sara Al Haddad, Samar Hejazi and Najat Makki. The multigenerational group exhibition of works in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, textile and glass, explores themes of memory and identity during a moment of great transformation in the United Arab Emirates. The show is part of Sotheby’s Gallery Collective, a two-year partnership with UAE galleries launched in 2024.
Date: Until Nov. 14
Location: Sotheby’s Dubai, Dubai International Financial Center
Find more information here.
- The Imaginary Museum
This group show, presenting 27 artists from the UAE and abroad, draws its title from the French writer André Malraux’s idea of a museum without walls, or “musée imaginaire,” an imaginary, non-physical space created through photographs of art from all eras and cultures, thus democratizing artworks without geographical limitations.
Curated by Meena Vari, the exhibition displays works of pioneering Emirati artists across generations, from Hassan Sharif to Afra Al Dhaheri to Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum. Also presented are Christopher Joshua Benton’s explorations on the “kandura,” the local national dress of the UAE, and an olfactory artwork by Indu Antony.
Date: Until Nov. 30
Location: Rizq Art Initiative, Abu Dhabi
Find more information here.
- Sotheby’s $150 million November Auction Preview in Abu Dhabi
Sotheby’s staged its first and most valuable November auctions preview in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi this week, presenting a selection of Western masterpieces collectively valued at $150 million, which will be auctioned in New York. Prime works by such masters as Paul Gauguin, Frida Kahlo, René Magritte, Edvard Munch, Camille Pissarro and Vincent van Gogh were drawn from trophy estates that Sotheby’s secured this season. The works will travel to London and Paris before landing in New York for the November marquee sales.
Find more information here.
4. Book of the week: "The Gulf in World History"
“The Gulf in World History: Arabia at the Global Crossroads” charts the history of the Gulf region as an ancient crossroads of diverse cultures and religious faiths that is now at the center of modern trade. Over the years, the Arabian, or Persian, Gulf has been at the crux of both regional and global conflicts as well as rapid modern-day economic developments. This fascinating read, edited by Allen James Fromherz, is crucial to anyone getting to know the region and its role in world history.
5. View from Dubai
A work by Charlie Koolhaus in City Lust at Jossa, Alserkal Avenue. Courtesy of Jossa
Photographer and writer Charlie Koolhaas’s solo exhibition “City Lust” at Jossa in Alserkal Avenue took place Sept. 18–21, presenting images from her book City Lust (2020). The title for the book was borrowed from a perfume that Koolhaas came across in Gift Village, a modest corner shop in Dubai. City Lust went beyond being a collection of photographs to stand as a living archive of two decades spent traveling to capture connections between major capitals in a globalized world. On view and in the book are images of Guangzhou, Dubai, Lagos, London and Houston.
Find more information on City of Life here.
6. By the numbers
- The emirate of Abu Dhabi has committed to spending $11.4 billion in new projects aimed at improving Abu Dhabi city’s livability, Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced on Sept. 29.
- The livability initiative builds on the more than 60 projects, worth 12 billion dirhams ($3.26 billion), delivered since 2023, such as parks, mosques, schools, walking paths and cycling tracks.
- Crown Prince Khaled also confirmed that he has reviewed the emirate’s digital strategy for 2025-27, backed by 13 billion dirhams ($3.54 billion), to accelerate adoption of AI and digital innovation across the government, according to the UK-based news platform Arabian Gulf Business Insight.