Frieze Brings Its First Middle East Fair to Abu Dhabi
Frieze, the art fair company, is holding its first event in the Middle East, with Frieze Abu Dhabi scheduled for 19 to 22 November.
An art fair is a trade show where galleries sell work to collectors, curators and the public. Abu Dhabi already has one. It began in 2007 as ArtParis Abu Dhabi at the Emirates Palace hotel, then took the name Abu Dhabi Art and moved to Manarat Al Saadiyat, a venue on Saadiyat Island in the capital. The Art Newspaper reports that the new fair is a partnership between Frieze and Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism, the government body that ran Abu Dhabi Art.
Leading the new event is Dyala Nusseibeh. She joined Abu Dhabi Art as director in 2016 and now directs Frieze Abu Dhabi. She said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accounted for 45% of all buyers of art from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA, a region that spans both sides of the Mediterranean) in 2025.
The fair is one piece of a wider plan for the city's arts. The Saadiyat Cultural District, a planned arts zone on the island, already has three museums that opened in the past 18 months. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a branch of the New York museum, is set to open in late 2026.
The fair also has a new prize. Dala Nasser is the first winner of the Frieze Abu Dhabi Artist Award, which was created for this event.
For visitors, the fair opens on 19 November and runs until 22 November. Anyone planning a trip can check the dates and venue details on the fair's own website before they go.
