The UAE art market beyond the fairs: local galleries worth knowing

01Dubai: far more than Art Dubai

Art Dubai, founded in 2007, has become the reference contemporary art fair for the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. Its programming, comprising sections dedicated to contemporary, modern and digital art, attracts galleries from more than forty countries annually. But the fabric of permanent galleries operating in Dubai year-round constitutes an ecosystem whose density often surprises visitors who know the city only through its fairs.

The Alserkal Avenue district, a former industrial warehouse complex transformed into an art district in Al Quoz, is the heart of Dubai's art scene. Founded by Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal in 2007, the district today houses some twenty galleries, project spaces, artist studios and independent cultural institutions. The whole forms an ecosystem of a coherence evoking the most accomplished art districts in the world.

Among Alserkal Avenue's galleries, The Third Line, founded in 2005 by Sunny Rahbar and Claudia Cellini, occupies a singular position. The gallery pioneered the promotion of artists from the Middle East and South Asia, and its programme has contributed to the international recognition of many artists from the region. The Third Line represents artists such as Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, a major figure of contemporary Iranian art whose geometric mirror works have been presented at the Guggenheim in New York, and Hassan Sharif, considered the father of conceptual art in the UAE.

Galerie Isabelle van den Eynde, founded in 2005, has developed a programme blending Middle Eastern and international artists, creating dialogues between scenes that enrich the reading of each work. Green Art Gallery, founded in Dubai in 1995 and installed at Alserkal Avenue since 2010, is one of the city's oldest galleries. Under the direction of Yasmin Atassi, the gallery has developed a demanding programme presenting modern and contemporary artists from the Arab world, including Etel Adnan, Huguette Caland and Simone Fattal.

Beyond Alserkal Avenue, Dubai has other significant spaces. Leila Heller Gallery, which also has a space in New York, has opened a large-scale space in the Al Quoz district. Custot Gallery Dubai, an offshoot of Paris-based Galerie Custot, has opened in the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) district with a quality international programme. Ayyam Gallery, founded in 2006, has played an important role in promoting contemporary Syrian art from Dubai.

02Abu Dhabi: institutional ambition and the gallery fabric

Abu Dhabi has chosen a strategy different from Dubai's by betting on world-class institutions. The Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Jean Nouvel and inaugurated in 2017, is the product of an intergovernmental agreement between the UAE and France of unprecedented scope in the cultural domain. The museum, whose architecture has become an emblem, presents collections covering the entire span of human history and has organised temporary exhibitions of remarkable quality.

The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project, designed by Frank Gehry and whose opening is anticipated, follows the same logic of world-class institutions on Saadiyat Island. The cultural campus aims to make Saadiyat Island a cultural hub of international dimension.

Beyond these institutional projects, Abu Dhabi has developed a network of galleries and cultural spaces. Salwa Zeidan Gallery, founded in 1994 and considered the first contemporary art gallery in Abu Dhabi, has accompanied the development of the local art scene since its beginnings. Etihad Modern Art Gallery and Warehouse421, a cultural space in the Mina Zayed port area, contribute to the diversity of the capital's artistic offerings.

03Sharjah: the intellectual hub

The emirate of Sharjah occupies a distinctive place in the UAE's artistic ecosystem. The Sharjah Biennial, founded in 1993 and directed since 2002 by Hoor Al Qasimi, has become one of the world's most respected biennials. Far from Dubai's commercial spectacle, the Sharjah Biennial offers intellectually ambitious programming that privileges research, intercultural dialogue and engaged artistic practices. Internationally renowned curators including Okwui Enwezor, Christine Tohme and Yuko Hasegawa have been invited.

The Sharjah Art Foundation, directed by Hoor Al Qasimi, manages a group of exhibition spaces, artist residencies and educational programmes constituting the region's densest cultural infrastructure. The Foundation's residency programme hosts artists from around the world annually and produces works subsequently presented in the Foundation's collection or in travelling exhibitions.

For the European dealer, Sharjah represents a hub complementary to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The intellectual quality of the Biennial and the Foundation's programmes attracts an audience of professionals, curators and collectors whose profile differs from that of commercial fair visitors. Relationships formed in Sharjah are often inscribed within a longer timeframe and a partnership logic that extends beyond mere transaction.

04Emirati collectors: discretion and sophistication

Collecting in the UAE presents characteristics the European dealer must understand. Emirati collectors are often discreet, reluctant to publicise their acquisitions and concerned with preserving their privacy. This discretion, which contrasts with the ostentatious visibility sometimes associated with the UAE, reflects a culture where art is above all a personal and family matter.

First-generation Emirati collectors assembled holdings centred on Islamic art, calligraphy and decorative arts of the Arab world. The current generation, educated at international universities and exposed to the global art scene, collects both contemporary art from the Middle East and international art. Some Emirati collectors appear in international rankings of the most influential collectors while maintaining a discreet profile.

The ruling families of the different emirates play a major role in supporting art and culture. The Al Nahyan family in Abu Dhabi, the Al Maktoum family in Dubai and the Al Qasimi family in Sharjah have each developed distinct cultural strategies contributing to the richness and diversity of the country's artistic ecosystem. This princely patronage, which has no equivalent at this scale in the contemporary Western world, offers artists and institutions support whose permanence constitutes a stabilising factor for the market.

05Emirati and regional artists

The Emirati art scene is still young — the country was only founded in 1971 — but it has produced in a few decades artists whose work merits international attention. Hassan Sharif, who died in 2016, is considered the founder of conceptual and experimental art in the UAE. His work, blending sculpture, installation and performance, has been presented at institutions including MoMA PS1 in New York and the Musee d'Art Moderne de Paris. Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, sculptor and performer, represented the UAE at the Venice Biennale in 2022.

Ebtisam Abdulaziz, whose work questions the relationship between the individual and the system, has been presented in international exhibitions. Mohammed Kazem, artist and curator, has worked since the 1980s with varied mediums including photography, video and installation. The younger generation, represented by artists such as Lantian Xie, Farah Al Qasimi and Vikram Divecha, explores themes related to identity, migration, urbanisation and globalisation that resonate well beyond the Emirati context.

The UAE also hosts a significant diaspora of artists originally from the Indian subcontinent, Iran, the Levant and North Africa, whose presence considerably enriches the local scene. Galleries in Dubai and Sharjah frequently present Iranian, Pakistani, Lebanese and Egyptian artists who find in the UAE a receptive market and a favourable working environment.

06Opportunities and considerations for the European dealer

The Emirati market offers the European dealer significant opportunities, provided the market is approached with knowledge of its specificities. Prices on the local market are often competitive compared to European levels, and Emirati collectors' purchasing power is high. The DIFC free zone and cultural free zones offer regulatory frameworks favourable to art transactions.

The dealer should however account for the local calendar, marked by Ramadan, summer temperatures and fair cycles, which concentrate activity between November and March. Cultural sensitivity is essential: works that address religious, political or sexual subjects in a frontal manner may encounter difficulties in a context where social norms differ from those in Europe.

Personal relationships are at the heart of business in the UAE. The dealer who takes the time to build relationships of trust, understand their interlocutors' expectations and respect local cultural codes will find in the UAE a welcoming market and reliable partners.

07The future of the Emirati market

The UAE art market is in a consolidation phase following the period of spectacular expansion from 2007 to 2019. Institutional investments continue, galleries that have survived economic cycles have strengthened, and a generation of informed and demanding local collectors constitutes a market base that reduces dependence on passing international buyers. The anticipated opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the cultural projects underway in Dubai and Sharjah suggest an ecosystem whose institutional density will be unmatched in the region.

The development of the secondary market constitutes an additional indicator of maturity. International auction houses now organise regular sales dedicated to Middle Eastern art from their Dubai offices, and Emirati collectors actively participate in international sales. This progressive integration into global market circuits reinforces the UAE's attractiveness for European galleries seeking new outlets for their artists.

Artedusa offers partner galleries interested in the Emirati market an international visibility that can serve as a bridge to this region of intense cultural effervescence.