ART DUBAI 2025 OPENS NEXT WEEK

(MENAFN- SEC Newgate) Art Dubai, the Middle East’s leading international art fair, opens next week at Madinat Jumeirah. The fair will present over 500 leading international and regional artists across 120 contemporary, modern and digital gallery presentations. The programme is drawn from more than 65 cities and 40 countries and is the region’s largest and most important annual art event. Art Dubai is an important gateway for discovery, learning and exchange, and the gallery programme is complemented by an expansive programme of immersive and site-specific installations, daily live performances, talks and events.

Dates & Timings
● VIP & Media preview on Wednesday, 16 April
● VIP opening on Thursday, 17 April
● Public dates on Friday, 18 April - Sunday, 20 April
● Tickets available online and on the door
○ 1-Day ticket: AED 100
○ 3-Day ticket: AED 200
Entry is free for children aged 18 and under, and for university students.

Highlights
● A truly global gallery programme featuring 120 leading galleries from Dubai, the Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America, the African continent, and West and South Asia.
● Four curated gallery sections featuring contemporary, modern, digital presentations, and Bawwaba, a highly curated section featuring works made in the year leading up to the fair.
● Over 30 first-time exhibitors including leading international galleries like Cristina Guerra, Bortolami, Richard Saltoun and RGR.
● Experiential and immersive digital installations by major international artists, including a large-scale AI-driven work by Ouchhh Studio, an interactive kinetic installation by Breakfast, and an AI dream kaleidoscope by Hybrid Xperience.
● Major artist commissions and collaborations including Alymamah Rashed, Mohammed Kazem, Jacob Dahlgren, and the regional debut of Andy Warhol’s BMW Art Car.
● A dynamic live programme of performances and daily talks featuring artists, collectors, scholars and thinkers shaping the future.
● New Dubai Collection exhibition ‘Common Grounds’.
● Nightly afterparty with live DJs including Habibi Funk and Melika, bringing global sounds to Art Dubai.

Gallery Programme
Art Dubai presents four gallery sections, from Modern masters to the most contemporary, cutting-edge visual artists working today. The programme is developed under the direction of Art Dubai’s Artistic Director Pablo del Val and esteemed invited guest curators.
• Art Dubai Contemporary is Art Dubai’s largest section, featuring 72 internationally renowned galleries from around the world. The section welcomes 16 first-time exhibitors alongside returning galleries and newer names.
• Bawwaba (meaning Gateway in Arabic) is curated by Mirjam Varadinis and presents 10 solo presentations of new artworks by artists from 10 countries - this year’s theme focuses on imagining new models of living together, migration and displacement.
• Art Dubai Modern, curated by Dr. Nada Shabout and Magalí Arriola, features 9 gallery presentations by Modern masters from across West Asia, North Africa and - for the first time this year - Latin America.
• Art Dubai Digital is curated by Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, and will feature presentations by 22 international and Dubai-based digital platforms featuring artists working with cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality. This is the only such section at any major international art fair.

Digital Installations
Debuting at the fair is a series of digital installations exploring the transformation of nature through technology. Featuring BREAKFAST’s digitally-controlled kinetic installation, Ouchhh Studio’s AI-driven climate sculpture, Jacopo Di Cera’s glacier-inspired piece, and Dubai-based Hybrid Xperience’s AI dream kaleidoscope.

Performances and Interventions
On Sunday, 20 April, a live performance of a work by Héctor Zamora will take place, exploring themes of rebirth and transformation with raw clay as the key medium. Alserkal Avenue will also present a site-specific intervention by the artist, marking the launch of a new multi-year partnership between Art Dubai and Alserkal Avenue, supporting artists with a performance-based practice.
Daily Talks with Artists & Collectors
Daily programme of talks by leading international experts who are shaping the creative world will include the celebrated two-day Global Art Forum “The New New Normal”, the second Digital Summit, convening the brightest and best minds working at the intersection of art and technology, and a series of intimate Conversations with Artists. Notable speakers include Hans Ulrich Obrist, Rem Koolhaas, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Primavera de Filippi, and Krista Kim.
Evening Programme Each evening, the After Dark programme brings together local and international talent for a post-fair after-party experience, running on Friday, 18 April and Saturday, 19 April, until 2 AM. This year’s lineup welcomes Habibi Funk and Melika, spotlighting a diverse mix of disco, funk, and world dance music.
Partner Programme
Julius Baer and Art Dubai mark a 10-year collaboration in 2025
Celebrating 10 years of partnership, Julius Baer and Art Dubai have helped shape the UAE’s cultural landscape, with major commissions focusing on public engagement at their heart. This year, Julius Baer presents Directions (Merging) by Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem, reflecting Dubai’s role as a global crossroads of culture and exchange.

HUNA Cultural Programme
Huna’s cultural programme will include a new commission by Swedish artist Jacob Dahlgren to be revealed at Huna Sculpture Park at H Residence and the HUNA talks series will present live conversations with leading cultural figures from the UAE.

Piaget Commission by Alymamah Rashed
Piaget will debut a new commission by Alymamah Rashed at Art Dubai 2025. Your Love Moves Around My Trapeze Sun (Will You Hold Our Glistening Light?) reinterprets the Maison’s Play of Shapes. Infused with gold leaf, deep blues, and celestial forms, Rashed’s dreamlike composition echoes Piaget’s craftsmanship, transforming time, movement, and light into a poetic, immersive experience.

Celebrating 50 Years of the BMW Art Car with Andy Warhol
BMW marks half a century of its iconic Art Car Collection with a special showcase at Art Dubai 2025. Created in YEAR Andy Warhol’s legendary BMW M1 Art Car will be on display for the first time in Dubai celebrating BMW’s historic long-term commitment to supporting the arts through innovation and commissioning.
‘Common Grounds’ by Dubai Collection
Zayed University students curate a new exhibition with Dubai Collection, the first institutional art collection for the city of Dubai. Under the mentorship of curatorial advisors Dr. Nada Shabout and Magalí Arriola, ‘Common Grounds’n will present works from the Collection that resonate across boundaries of geography and culture.
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 fair is held in partnership with A.R.M. Holding. It is sponsored by Swiss Wealth Manager Julius Baer. Art Dubai’s exclusive Watch and Jewellery partner is Piaget. Culturally driven lifestyle developer HUNA Living is a partner of Art Dubai. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is the strategic partner of Art Dubai and Art Dubai Digital. Madinat Jumeirah is the home of Art Dubai.

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