Abu Dhabi Art’s final showcase before Frieze
Also this week: Nomad debuts, Manar returns, House of Arts opens
Welcome back to Al-Monitor Dubai.
Abu Dhabi Art Fair has opened with a celebratory buzz, marking its largest and most anticipated international edition and its final one before Frieze Abu Dhabi takes over in 2026. Meanwhile, a flurry of cultural events are taking over the UAE capital this week, including the second edition of the light art festival Manar Abu Dhabi and the inaugural collectible design fair NOMAD Abu Dhabi at the decommissioned Terminal 1 of Zayed International Airport. In Dubai, a new multipurpose art center, House of Arts, has opened in Expo City.
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Rebecca
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A view of the booth of Dubai-based Tabari Artspace featuring the work of Saudi painter Nasser Almulhim (left). (Courtesy of Tabari Artspace)
Abu Dhabi Art has returned for its 17th edition and its final year before Frieze Abu Dhabi takes its place in 2026. This year’s fair, presenting more than 140 galleries from 52 cities and 37 countries, feels like a celebration of its legacy and its role in shaping the art scene in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE.
While the fair represents artists and galleries from around the world, it continues to focus on the Middle East and other regions whose artists and narratives are often overlooked by major global centers of artistic production.
This mission is reflected in the fair’s three spotlighted regions — Turkey, the Gulf and Nigeria — as well as in the themes that define this year’s Focus section and underscore a spirit of collaboration and community.
“I see galleries as stakeholders in the fair, and the research that they do is pretty critical — especially in our part of the world — to ensure that the legacies and histories of its artists are cared for, looked after and represented,” fair director Dyala Nusseibeh told Al-Monitor.
“So the role of the art fair in that sense has been one of incubation and expansion, allowing those stories and narratives and histories to reach different audiences globally,” Nusseibeh said.
Elsewhere, the Modern & Contemporary, Special Projects and Emerge sections showcase both established and experimental practices. Bidaya, which means “beginning” in Arabic, presents new galleries and first-time participants. Curated presentations also remain a strong feature this year, with the Beyond Emerging Artists initiative, curated by Issam Kourbaj, premiering new commissions by Alla Abdunabi, Salmah Almansoori and Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum. Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou has shaped the visual identity of the fair, with her 2023 work “Beyond All Measures" highlighted for its exploration of transformation and perception.
Date: Nov. 19-23
Location: Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island
Find more information here.
2. Word on the street: 3Fils comes to Abu Dhabi
Nigiri BOMB! A popular dish at 3Fils. (Photo courtesy of 3Fils)
One of Dubai’s most popular eateries has found a permanent home at the Abu Dhabi Edition after a successful pop-up last year. A much-loved, Emirati-owned restaurant, 3Fils serves contemporary Asian cuisine with a Japanese twist in a modern, minimalist and comfortable setting. Be sure to try the sakura ebi, angel hair pasta with shrimp, the wagyu overload burger and slow-cooked lamb ribs.
Location: Abu Dhabi Edition, Al Bateen
Find more information here.
3. Dubai diary
A view of Nomad Abu Dhabi at Terminal 1 Zayed International Airport. (Photography by Nikita Berezhnoy / Courtesy of NOMAD Circle)
- Nomad Abu Dhabi opens inaugural edition
For frequent travelers who once passed through Terminal 1 of Zayed International Airport, a visit to the inaugural NOMAD Abu Dhabi — the renowned collectible design fair — offers a distinctly nostalgic experience. The now defunct terminal is a landmark of Gulf modernism. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu during the late 1980s at the behest of the UAE’s founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Terminal 1 opened in 1982 and became an immediate symbol for the progress and forward-thinking vision of the UAE. While in 2023 the terminal retired from service, this week it has a new purpose: to house art and collectible design pieces from across the Middle East and internationally.
Nomad, which was established in 2017 by Canadian-Italian architect Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, has made a name for itself as a showcase for contemporary art and design that provides an alternative to traditional art fairs. Since its launch, Nomad Abu Dhabi has staged editions in Monaco, St. Moritz, Venice, the Hamptons and Cannes.
“Nomad Abu Dhabi is the first edition conceived explicitly around the idea of arrival, departure and modern heritage,” Bellavance-Lecompte told Al-Monitor. “Presenting the fair in Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Terminal 1 already sets it apart. In Abu Dhabi, we wanted to shift the focus toward dialogue with the Gulf and its cultural landscape.”
The architect adds that the curatorial approach draws on Emirati crafts, regional materials and modernist architecture, while still incorporating Nomad Abu Dhabi’’s international network of galleries and designers. Rather than replicating a European model, he explains, this edition is shaped by Abu Dhabi’s own context — influencing the fair’s tone, rhythm and collaborations.
Date: Until Nov. 22
Location: Terminal 1, Zayed International Airport, Abu Dhabi
Find more information here.
- Manar Abu Dhabi returns for second edition
Illuminating artworks once again light up the UAE capital, its surrounding oases and desert, and the city of Al Ain for the second edition of Manar Abu Dhabi. First launched in 2023, the public art exhibition returns this year under the theme “The Light Compass,” showcasing 22 works that explore the Gulf’s ancestral relationship with light. Organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the festival presents works by 15 Emirati and international artists and collectives from 10 countries, and it features 22 site-specific light sculptures, projections and immersive installations situated within Abu Dhabi’s diverse natural and urban landscapes.
Date: Until Jan. 4, 2026
Location: Across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Abu Dhabi desert
Find more information here.
- House of Arts opens in Dubai’s Expo City
Marking a new chapter in the cultural life of Expo City Dubai — the site of Expo 2020 Dubai — the House of Arts is a multidisciplinary space dedicated to showcasing art from the UAE and the wider region and making it accessible to everyone. Located in the award-winning structure formerly known as the Morocco Pavilion, and repurposed and refurnished specifically to host the House of Arts, the structure was also recently nominated for the prestigious Aga Khan award and spans seven floors of exhibition, workshop and programming space.
The new space opened with the exhibition “Interwoven", presenting works by 18 artists from the UAE, the GCC and across the Arab world.
Date: Opened Nov. 19
Location: Expo City Dubai
Find more information here.
4. Book of the week: ‘Abu Dhabi Bright’
Dive into a celebration of the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi, in this elegant hardcover tome published by Assouline, where tradition and innovation coexist. Through captivating photography and text, readers journey through the city’s major attractions — from the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the majestic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to heart-racing adventures at Ferrari World and Yas Marina Circuit, as well as the heritage preserved in Al Ain’s UNESCO World Heritage sites.
5. View from Dubai
Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed opens House of Arts at Expo City Dubai. (Photo courtesy Expo City Dubai)
“The exhibition highlights the distinct creative voices of its participating artists,” said Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, while attending the official opening of House of Arts at Expo City Dubai. “Its strength lies in the diversity of perspectives on display that open space for dialogue and build bridges between local, Gulf and Arab artistic talent. Such exchanges of experience and vision strengthen the country’s artistic movement and help establish a sustainable ecosystem that inspires innovation and supports the growth of cultural and creative industries."
6. By the numbers
- Abu Dhabi welcomed over 4 million visitors to its museums, heritage sites, and cultural spaces from January to June, according to data from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. Visits to the capital’s cultural destinations jumped 47% compared to the same period last year, driven by the Tourism Strategy 2030.
- Abu Dhabi Art’s final edition is its biggest yet. In 2024, the fair presented 102 galleries from 31 countries. In 2023, it presented 92 galleries from over 31 countries, and in 2022, it presented 78 galleries from 27 countries.