Abu Dhabi Art (ADA) held its final edition at Manarat Al Saadiyat before transitioning into a Frieze franchise in November 2025. The fair featured 53 new galleries, a Focus sector highlighting art scenes from Nigeria, Turkey, and South Asia, and a new Emerge section offering discounted booth prices for works under $3,000 to attract emerging collectors. The shift comes as Abu Dhabi’s cultural landscape moves beyond its iconic Saadiyat Island museums—Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi—toward more grassroots ventures like the MiZa warehouse district, which hosts experimental spaces such as MamarLab and Iris Projects. Mega-gallery Pace returned after a 14-year absence, citing renewed energy in the Gulf market.
This transition matters because it signals Abu Dhabi’s maturation from a government-led museum capital into a dynamic, market-driven art hub. The Frieze partnership and influx of international galleries reflect growing collector diversity and a deliberate effort to build sustainable local art economies. The fair’s focus on affordable art and Global South scenes aims to cultivate a new generation of collectors, while sovereign wealth moves like ADQ’s $1 billion stake in Sotheby’s underscore the region’s increasing financial influence in the global art market. The evolution challenges the perception of Gulf art scenes as detached from grassroots practice, positioning Abu Dhabi as a key player in diversifying the art market beyond traditional Western centers.