Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Jul 9, 2025 source 2 sources visibility 20 link 3 artists, 7 galleries

art basel qatar wael shawky artistic director 1234747075

Art Basel has appointed artist Wael Shawky as the artistic director of its upcoming fair in Doha, Qatar, scheduled to open in February. This marks a departure from the company's usual practice of selecting directors from the commercial art world. Shawky, who represented Egypt at the Venice Biennale and has had solo exhibitions at Tate Modern and MoMA PS1, will curate around 50 single-artist presentations across two venues, M7 and the Doha Design District, with equal pricing for exhibitors initially. A selection committee including dealers from international and regional galleries will assist in choosing participants.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 20 link 14 artists, 5 galleries

gulf art scene global force 1234757320

The article reports on the rapid expansion of the Gulf art scene, with a packed calendar of events from November to March including Abu Dhabi Art, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Noor Riyadh, Desert X AlUla, Art Basel Qatar, Art Dubai, and the Sharjah Biennial. Institutional buying is surging as Abu Dhabi prepares to open its Guggenheim, Qatar Museums acquires for the Art Mill, and Saudi Arabia buys for multiple planned museums. The number of collectors is also growing, driven by a "Covid bounce" of high-net-worth individuals relocating from Europe and India to tax-efficient Dubai and Doha, with 6,700 millionaires moving to the UAE in 2024 alone.

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person people schedule Apr 25, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists, 3 galleries

saudi arabia art scene athr gallery interview 1234739235

ARTnews interviews Mohammed Hafiz, co-founder of Athr Gallery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as part of its Newsmakers series. Hafiz discusses the evolution of the Saudi art scene since Athr's founding in 2009, the gallery's expansion into multiple locations and a foundation offering grants and residencies, and the role of grassroots patrons and collectors before the Ministry of Culture's involvement in 2018. The interview, conducted at the Athr Foundation in Riyadh during the first annual Art Week Riyadh, also touches on Hafiz's personal history with art, including buying his first artwork in high school in the 1990s, and challenges misconceptions that the Saudi art scene began only recently.

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article culture schedule Jan 8, 2026 visibility 20 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

8 gulf artists defining the regions new cultural renaissance 2728529

Artnet News profiles eight Gulf artists who are shaping the region's cultural renaissance, including Mohammad Alfaraj and Dana Awartani. The article highlights their growing international recognition, with Alfaraj winning Art Basel Emerging Artist and Gold Awards in 2025 and Awartani exhibiting at the 2024 Venice Biennale. It notes the expansion of major art fairs like Art Basel and Frieze into the Gulf, alongside new homegrown initiatives such as the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale and Rubaiya Qatar.

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trending_up market schedule Feb 23, 2026 visibility 18 link 4 artists, 5 galleries

gulf art market 2740860

The Gulf region is rapidly transforming into a primary axis for the international art trade, marked by the upcoming debut of Art Basel Qatar and the rebranding of Abu Dhabi Art as a Frieze event. While state-led museum projects have long dominated headlines, a surge of commercial activity is now taking hold as blue-chip galleries like Pace and David Zwirner join local stalwarts. This expansion comes at a strategic time as traditional markets in the U.S., U.K., and China face contraction.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 9, 2025 visibility 16 link 5 artists, 7 galleries

Art Basel Qatar unveils new fair format and appoints Artistic Director

Art Basel has announced details for its inaugural edition in Qatar, set to take place from February 5 to 7, 2026, at the M7 creative hub in Doha's Design District. Departing from the traditional booth model, the fair will introduce an open-format exhibition centered on the theme 'Becoming,' with solo presentations by galleries responding to a central curatorial framework. Egyptian-born artist Wael Shawky has been appointed Artistic Director for the first edition, working alongside Art Basel's Chief Artistic Officer Vincenzo de Bellis to shape the curatorial vision and guide gallery selection. The fair will span two key venues—M7 and the Doha Design District—as well as public sites in Msheireb, and plans include transforming Qatar Museum's Fire Station into a platform for educational programs.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 22, 2025 visibility 18 link 8 artists, 8 galleries

Why the inaugural Art Week Riyadh was a fair in everything but name

The inaugural Art Week Riyadh (AWR), organized by Saudi Arabia's Visual Arts Commission, took place from April 6-13 in the Jax district of Diriyah. Though officially billed as a non-commercial curated exhibition, the event functioned much like an art fair, with 32 galleries displaying available works, price lists visible on stands, and sales conducted throughout the week. The main exhibition, titled "At The Edge," was curated by Vittoria Matarrese with associate curators Basma Harasani and Victoria Gandit Lelandais, featuring galleries from Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Standout presentations included works by Ayesha Sultana, Mohamed Bourouissa, Mohammed Al Resayes, and Miramar Al Nayyar, alongside a moving image section and a satellite program of open studios and gallery shows.

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