Frieze Abu Dhabi Reveals Curated Programme for Inaugural 2026 Edition
The inaugural fair will bring together more than 80 galleries from 36 countries and regions, alongside new commissions, UAE-focused presentations, public sculpture and a three-day talks programme.
Frieze has announced the curated programme for the inaugural edition of Frieze Abu Dhabi, which will take place from 19 to 22 November 2026 at Manarat Al Saadiyat. Organised in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, the new fair will bring together artists, galleries and cultural practitioners from across generations and geographies, with a programme rooted in the artistic histories and contemporary practices of the region.
More than 80 galleries from 36 countries and regions are expected to participate in the first edition, while the wider programme will extend beyond the fair itself through a major new commission, a dedicated presentation bringing established and emerging UAE artists into dialogue, an outdoor sculpture exhibition and a series of talks addressing contemporary issues in the art world.
At the centre of the inaugural programme will be Dala Nasser, the Beirut- and London-based artist selected for the first Frieze Abu Dhabi Artist Award. Curated by Nabila Abdel Nabi, curator and art historian, the award will support a new site-responsive commission by Nasser titled Qubbat Duris.
The work takes its name from a 13th-century monument near Baalbek in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The historic structure itself reflects the layered cultural history of the region, incorporating fragments of Roman limestone sarcophagi alongside granite columns dating from earlier centuries. Nasser's installation will respond to this architectural history through a timber framework in the fair's atrium, which will be covered with paintings on textile bearing traces of the surrounding landscape.
The textiles will incorporate charcoal rubbings of the surviving ruins, alongside materials including ash, raw clay and terracotta. Through these materials, the installation will consider how landscapes and objects can carry memories across generations, while also addressing collective responsibility towards environments threatened by destruction.
The commission reflects the wider emphasis of Frieze Abu Dhabi on connections between place, history and contemporary artistic practice. Nasser, who received her MFA from Yale University in 2021, has exhibited internationally at institutions including Nottingham Contemporary, Kunsthalle Basel, the Renaissance Society in Chicago and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Her work is held in collections including those of Tate in London, Qatar Museums and the Aïshti Foundation in Beirut.
Established and Emerging UAE Artists in Dialogue
Another central component of the programme will be In Dialogue, a new annual exhibition intended to bring established and emerging artists from the UAE into direct conversation. The inaugural presentation, titled At Another Meeting Point, has been curated by Dirwaza Curatorial Lab, the Abu Dhabi-based creative incubator founded by curator Munira Al Sayegh, together with co-curators Hessa Al Nuaimi and Dania Al Tamimi.
The presentation will pair the work of Mohammed Kazem with that of Alia Zaal, creating a dialogue across generations of artistic practice in the UAE.
Kazem, born in Dubai in 1969, works across video, photography and performance, exploring ways of representing transient experiences such as sound and light. His practice emerged alongside a generation of artists who played an important role in the development of conceptual and interdisciplinary art in the UAE.
Zaal, born in Dubai in 1989 and now based in Abu Dhabi, works across painting and photography. Her practice explores the relationship between images, memory and perception, frequently drawing on photographs from personal and archival sources. Her work examines how images change through processes of translation and time, with painting serving as a means of exploring what photography cannot fully contain.
The pairing forms part of Frieze Abu Dhabi's attempt to place different generations of UAE artistic practice within the same exhibition framework, creating connections between established practices and newer approaches.
Frieze Sculpture Extends to Saadiyat Island
The fair's programme will also extend into the public realm through Frieze Sculpture Abu Dhabi, presented by Aldar. Taking place at Mamsha Beach on Saadiyat Island from 16 November to 16 December, the outdoor exhibition will bring large-scale works into a public setting beyond the walls of Manarat Al Saadiyat.
The programme will feature works by Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Zeinab Alhashemi, Imran Qureshi and Kamran Samimi, presented by Lawrie Shabibi, Tabari, Thaddaeus Ropac and The Third Line respectively.
Among the works on view will be Ibrahim's The Form (2024), Alhashemi's The Nut and Bolt (2026), Qureshi's Water Bodies (2026) and Samimi's Voyagers (Traveling Stones) (2025).
The selection brings together artists whose practices engage with questions of material, landscape, ecology and place. Alhashemi's The Nut and Bolt, for example, takes an everyday mechanism associated with urban construction and repositions it within an artistic context, while Ibrahim's practice has long been shaped by his relationship with the landscape of Khorfakkan on the Gulf of Oman.
Qureshi's practice draws on the visual language and techniques of 16th-century Mughal miniature painting while engaging with contemporary subjects. His work frequently places contrasting ideas such as violence and beauty, destruction and regeneration alongside one another.
Conversations Across the Global Art World
A three-day talks programme will accompany the fair, bringing together artists, curators, museum leaders, patrons and other figures from the international art world. The full schedule and list of participants is expected to be released in October.
Michael Govan and Eugene Tan. Courtesy of Frieze.
Among the announced sessions is Building the Global Museum, taking place on 19 November and featuring Michael Govan, art historian, and Eugene Tan, Director of the National Gallery Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum, with Kate Fowle, Director of Arts Program at the Hearthland Foundation, as moderator.
A second session, Curating Across Knowledge Systems, will take place on 20 November and will bring together curators Cosmin Costinaș and Kelli Cole with Claudia Segura, Head of Collection at MACBA.
Cosmin Costinaș, Kelli Cole and Claudia Segura. Courtesy of Frieze.
Together, the talks programme and exhibitions position the inaugural fair within wider discussions around museums, curatorial practice and the circulation of contemporary art across different cultural and geographical contexts.
A New Chapter for Abu Dhabi's Art Scene
The launch of Frieze Abu Dhabi comes as the emirate continues to develop its cultural infrastructure and international presence. The fair's programme places particular emphasis on artists and artistic histories connected to the region, while its international gallery participation and talks programme create a broader framework for exchange.
For Frieze, the Abu Dhabi edition adds a new location to its existing international programme of art fairs, which includes events in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York and Seoul. The organisation describes the Abu Dhabi programme as an opportunity to connect the emirate's artistic histories and contemporary practices with a wider international art scene.
Frieze Abu Dhabi will open with an invitation-only preview on 19 November, followed by general admission from 20 November. The fair will run until 22 November at Manarat Al Saadiyat, while Frieze Sculpture Abu Dhabi will remain on view at Mamsha Beach through 16 December.
