BASEL.- Art Basel Qatar will feature 84 artist presentations by 87 galleries when the fair debuts in Doha next February. Presented in partnership with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+, the fair – Art Basel’s fifth globally – will be held from 5-7 February 2026 (with Preview Days 3-4 February). The 87 participants span 31 countries and territories, and 16 galleries will be showing with Art Basel for the first time – bringing new voices and perspectives onto our global platform.
Conceived under the curatorial direction of Egyptian-born artist Wael Shawky, Art Basel Qatar’s first edition departs from the traditional booth model to present an open-format exhibition in which artist presentations respond to a central curatorial theme of Becoming. A meditation on humanity’s constant transformation and the systems that shape how we live, believe, and create meaning, it will unfold across two key venues – M7 and the Doha Design District – as well as selected public sites in Msheireb Downtown Doha, the city’s creative and cultural heart. Both the format and curatorial direction will foreground storytelling and dialogue, offering new ways for galleries, artists, and collectors to engage while maintaining strong market relevance.
Art Basel Qatar – with Visit Qatar as the fair’s Lead Partner – will highlight the vitality of artistic production and the expanding gallery landscape across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. The strength of the regional presence in our first edition affirms Doha’s position as a vibrant hub for cultural exchange, while linking the fair to Art Basel’s global network of galleries, artists, and collectors.
• More than half of the artists presented in this first edition hail from the region, including Etel Adnan, Ali Banisadr, Simone Fattal, Ali Cherri, Meriem Bennani and Iman Issa.
• Galleries from across the region will participate, including those with locations in the Gulf (Qatar, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia), the wider Middle East (Lebanon, Turkey), North Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia), and South Asia (India).
• Homegrown galleries from the region that are participating in their first Art Basel fair include Hafez Gallery (Jeddah, Riyadh), Gallery Misr (Cairo), Le Violon Bleu (Tunis), Saleh Barakat Gallery (Beirut), and Tabari Artspace (Dubai).
• International galleries from across Europe, the Americas, and Asia will participate, including Acquavella Galleries, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, David Zwirner and White Cube.
Noah Horowitz, CEO of Art Basel, said: “With Art Basel Qatar, we are furthering our mission to be a catalyst for cultural exchange and market growth. Our gallery line-up for year one is thrilling – welcoming diverse new voices to our platform and deepening our engagement with new geographies, while also creating opportunities across our network of existing clients and established partners. This new venture is only possible thanks to the long-term commitment of our partners, Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+, and I’m excited for the impact our collaboration will have over the coming years.”
Vincenzo de Bellis, Chief Artistic Officer and Global Director of Fairs for Art Basel, said: “We are delighted with the response to Art Basel Qatar, which has brought together an exceptional roster of leading galleries for our inaugural edition. The breadth and quality of participation speaks to the strength of the project and the excitement it has generated both regionally and internationally. Working with Wael Shawky has been deeply energizing and rewarding: his vision has inspired outstanding presentations shaped around the theme of Becoming.”
Wael Shawky, Artistic Director, said: “The theme ‘Becoming’ is a meditation on change, on how humanity reshapes the ways we live, believe, and create meaning. The Gulf lies at the heart of this story, where oral traditions flow into digital networks and ancient trade routes return as new pathways of culture and exchange. Here, art is not only a witness to history but a force that shapes how we imagine and reimagine identity. My hope is that the first edition of Art Basel Qatar becomes a space for these stories to surface. The additional commissioned public projects will extend this spirit, giving greater voice to artists from the region and allowing their perspectives to echo far beyond it. Their full scope will be unveiled in the weeks ahead, inviting audiences to anticipate what is still becoming.”
Artist & Gallery Highlights
More than half of the 84 artists represented in this first edition hail from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, affirming Art Basel Qatar as a new flagship for the region. Participating in partnership with galleries both within the region and globally, presentations selected include Etel Adnan with Anthony Meier (Mill Valley) in collaboration with Waddington Custot (London, Dubai), Ali Banisadr with Perrotin (Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Dubai ), Ali Cherri with Almine Rech (Paris, Brussels, New York, Shanghai, Monaco, Gstaad ), Ahmed Mater with Athr Gallery (Jeddah, Riyadh, AlUla), Mona Hatoum with Galerie Chantal Crousel (Paris), Iman Issa with Sylvia Kouvali (London, Athens), Mohammed Monaiseer with Gyspum Gallery (Cairo), Hassan Sharif with Gallery Isabelle (Dubai), Simone Fattal with Karma International (Zurich), Shirin Neshat with Lia Rumma (Milan, Naples), MARWAN with Sfeir-Semler Gallery (Beirut, Hamburg), Sophia Al-Maria with The Third Line (Dubai), and Meriem Bennani with François Ghebaly (Los Angeles, New York) in collaboration with Lodovico Corsini (Brussels).
The region’s burgeoning gallery ecosystem will be central to this inaugural edition. In addition to those listed above, galleries from the Gulf — including al markhiya gallery (Doha), showing Bouthayna Al Muftah; Hafez Gallery (Jeddah, Riyadh), showing Lina Gazzaz; Green Art Gallery (Dubai), showing Maryam Hoseini; Lawrie Shabibi (Dubai), showing Amir Nour; and Tabari Artspace (Dubai), showing Hazem Harb — will be presented alongside participants from the wider Middle East. These include Marfa’ Projects (Beirut), showing Caline Aoun, and Galerie Tanit (Beirut, Munich), showing Adel Abidin, as well as Pilot Galeri (Istanbul), showing Halil Altındere. From North Africa, highlights include ArtTalks | Kanafani Gallery (Cairo), showing Ahmed Morsi; Gallery Misr (Cairo) showing Souad Abdelrasoul; Loft Art Gallery (Casablanca, Marrakech) showing Mustapha Azeroual, and Le Violon Bleu (Tunis), showing Farid Belkahia. From India, participants include Chemould Prescott Road (Mumbai), showing Rashid Rana.
They will sit in dialogue with international galleries from across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. These include: Acquavella Galleries (New York, Palm Beach), showing Jean-Michel Basquiat; Galleria Continua (San Gimignano, São Paulo, Beijing, Havana, Boissy-le-Châtel, Paris, Rome), showing Pascale Marthine Tayou; Gagosian (New York, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Le Bourget, Basel, Gstaad, Rome, Athens, Hong Kong), showing Christo; Gladstone Gallery (New York, Brussels, Seoul), showing Alex Katz; Gray (Chicago, New York), showing Torkwase Dyson; Hauser & Wirth (Zurich, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Monaco, Ciutadella de Menorca, Basel, Gstaad, St. Moritz, London, Somerset, Los Angeles, West Hollywood), showing Philip Guston; Sean Kelly (New York, Los Angeles), showing Hugo McCloud; kurimanzutto (Mexico City, New York), showing Gabriel Orozco; Lisson Gallery (London, Los Angeles, New York, Shanghai), showing Olga de Amaral; Luxembourg + Co. (London, New York), showing Katsumi Nakai; Pace Gallery (New York, Los Angeles, London, Geneva, Berlin, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo), showing Lynda Benglis; Sprüth Magers (Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York), showing Otto Piene; Tornabuoni Art (Florence, Milan, Forte dei Marmi, Crans Montana, Paris, Rome), showing Alighiero Boetti; Michael Werner Gallery (New York, London, Beverly Hills, Berlin), showing Issy Wood; White Cube (London, Hong Kong, Paris, New York, Seoul), showing Georg Baselitz; and David Zwirner (New York, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Paris), showing Marlene Dumas.
