Art Dubai

A fair that looks south

Art Dubai is the Gulf's leading art fair. Founded in 2007, it focuses on artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, across modern, contemporary and digital art, and adds talks, performances and music to the gallery booths. For a European art lover, it is a chance to see, in three days, art scenes that are thinly represented at Europe's fairs.

The 2027 edition is scheduled for 9 to 11 April, after two invitation-only VIP Days on 7 and 8 April.

What you will see

The 2027 call for applications describes five sections:

• Galleries, established galleries showing contemporary and modern work;
• Zamaniyyat, the modern art section, curated by Sarah A. Rifky;
• Bawwaba, solo presentations by emerging artists, led by Amal Khalaf;
• Art Dubai Digital, devoted to digital art;
• Art Dubai Extended, site-specific works beyond the booths.

The 2027 gallery list has not been published yet.

A postponed 2026 edition

The 2026 edition, the twentieth, was planned for mid-April. Because of the regional conflict it was moved to 14-17 May 2026, at the same venue and in a smaller format. Even so, according to the Dubai government media office, it set a new attendance record for its public days, with more than 25,000 visitors.

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Tickets and opening hours

Prices and hours for 2027 have not been announced. As a guide, a day ticket cost AED 100, about €25, in 2025, and a three-day pass AED 200. Public days then ran from 2 pm to 9 pm local time on the first two days and from noon to 6 pm on the last. Sabaro confirms prices as soon as they are released.

Getting there and where to stay

The fair is held at Madinat Jumeirah, on Jumeirah Beach Road in Al Sufouh: a complex of hotels, canals and an Arabian-style souk, looking out to Burj Al Arab. You can stay within walking distance:

• at Jumeirah Al Qasr, a palace resort inside Madinat Jumeirah itself, on two kilometres of shared beach;
• at Jumeirah Beach Hotel or Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, next door on Jumeirah Road in Umm Suqeim.

The area is described on our Jumeirah page. April suits a trip combining the fair with the beach: the average high is 33.7 °C and the sea 25.5 °C. To make more of the art season, Alserkal Avenue, the gallery district of Al Quoz, stretched its art week into a whole month in 2026, the Alserkal Art Month, from April to May. The city's other museums and art venues are gathered in our museums and culture theme.