WELCOME TO ART DUBAI 2026 APPLICATIONS

Art Dubai is currently accepting applications for Art Dubai Galleries, Zamaniyyat, Bawwaba, Bawwaba Extended, and Art Dubai Digital.

ART DUBAI GALLERIES

Art Dubai Galleries welcomes applications from established commercial galleries that have been operating for a minimum of two years and, for the first time, invites applications within both the Contemporary and Modern markets. Exhibitors are selected on the basis of the quality of their exhibition programme, the artists represented by the gallery, and the curatorial strength of the booth presentation.

ZAMANIYYAT *

Zamaniyyat | زمانيات (from zaman, the Arabic word for ‘time’), a dedicated platform featuring solo and group presentations that revisit the work of artists who shaped and reshaped modernisms throughout the 20th century in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. The selected curator is Dr. Sarah A. Rifky, a curator, writer, and art historian who has held curatorial, founding, and leadership roles internationally, including with Townhouse, documenta 13, and Beirut, which she co-founded in Cairo (2012–2015). 

* Art Dubai Modern has evolved with the inclusion of modern presentations within the main Galleries section, and a new curated section named Zamaniyyat.

BAWWABA

Bawwaba | بوابة (meaning gateway in Arabic) serves as a portal to the discovery of solo presentations of newly produced work, offering a platform for emerging to mid-career artists. The selected curator is Amal Khalaf, curator and artist who serves as Director of Programmes at Cubitt, and who co-curated the Sharjah Biennial 16, and is the curator for the forthcoming Ghost 2568 in Bangkok.

Galleries selected for the Bawwaba section will be eligible for the Bawwaba Gallery Support Programme, a new initiative introducing a risk sharing model to support participants in the 2026 edition of the fair.

BAWWABA EXTENDED 

Bawwaba Extended, a new artist-focused section dedicated to interdisciplinary artistic practices. Spanning the entire fair environment, Bawwaba Extended, curated in collaboration with Amal Khalaf and Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director, Curatorial, Art Dubai Group, will transform the site into a dynamic space for experimentation and innovation through installations, digital media, moving image, sound, and public interventions. It invites proposals from galleries worldwide, regardless of participation in the main fair.

ART DUBAI DIGITAL

Art Dubai Digital, the leading platform for digital art in an art fair context, brings together visionary artists, galleries, studios, and collectives reshaping the digital landscape. The selected curators are Ulrich Schrauth, a curator and creative director in the field of immersive media and digital art, serving as the Artistic Director of the UBS Digital Art Museum in Hamburg, and Nadine Khalil, independent art critic and curator who collaborates with contemporary artists exploring performance, environment, and technology.