AD Middle East

In April, we shifted our focus to the art of collecting and those who have made it their mission to archive and support the work of artists from across the Arab world and beyond. This May, we turn our attention to the artists and gallerists whose practices are shaping the region’s visual language. In this issue, we highlight Syrian artist Safwan Dahoul (@safwan_dahoul ), and alongside him, a younger generation that has asserted itself with equal clarity, namely the up and coming Saudi artist Hayfa Al Gwiaz, who graces our second cover (@hayfa_algwaiz ). Elsewhere, we step inside Gem Alf Gallery (@gem.alf ), located in Istanbul’s antiques and design quarter; Hala Saleh, founder of Cairo-based social kitchen Kook (@kook.eg ) and #AD100 design firm TDF+, invites us into her experimental lifestyle gallery for chefs and cooking enthusiasts alike. #AD100 Interior designer, Meshary AlNasser launches his new eponymous hybrid-workspace (@gallerymesharyalnassar ) which contains a ground-floor gallery that transforms seasonally to showcase unique pieces of design from across the globe. Operating between the digital and the physical, FAME Collective (@thefamecollective ) introduces collectors to wide-ranging work, from handmade rugs to jewellery. And finally, Thaer Select (@thaer.select ), founded by Mustafa Thaer, a creative agency that offers young artists a new platform outside a traditional gallery model. Meet the gallerists and artists featured in our April-May ‘26 #ArtIssue at the link in bio. Photography (in order): @nanaampofo , @aimhazi , @eranworks , @bilohussein , @thefamecollective , Marwan Benameur | Words: @aidannovaa , @rundoozz , @mariyabintrehan

Welcome to AD Middle East’s April-May ‘26 #ArtIssue. In this edition, we shift our focus to the art of collecting and those who have made it their mission to archive, showcase and support the work of artists from across the Arab world and beyond. To collect is, in many ways, to insist on continuity, especially in moments when the world feels anything but stable. This issue arrives at such a moment, where across the region and beyond, uncertainty has become a daily condition, its reverberations felt not only in headlines but in homes, in studios, and in the quiet, persistent act of making. And yet, it is precisely here, within these interiors, that another narrative takes shape. In the #ArtIssue, Christian Louboutin (@christianlouboutin ) opens up his transportive world in Paris (and his extensive collection of objects from Syria, Egypt and beyond); gallerist Leila Heller (@leilahellergallery ) showcases her nurturing New York abode; art patron Tariq Al Jaidah (@tajcollectionqatar ) takes us into his cartographic residence in Doha – a living map of Middle Eastern art, photographed on the very day of the Israeli–US attack on Iran. Interior stylist Emma James’ (@emmaajames ) Cairo apartment is an eccentric cabinet of wonders, while collector-turned-gallerist Amal Rakibi’s (@amalrakibigallery ) deeply intuitive space in Dubai graces our cover. The homes in this issue are not simply sites of display. They are living archives that resist erasure, that gather and preserve, and insist on presence. Elsewhere in the issue, we also turn to artists whose practices are shaping the region’s visual language. Safwan Dahoul (@safwan_dahoul ), one of Syria’s most prominent voices, offers an unusually personal reflection on his latest body of work. While alongside him, a younger generation asserts itself with equal clarity, namely the up and coming Saudi artist Hayfa Al Gwiaz, who we also profile (@hayfa_algwaiz ). At the link in bio, step inside our April-May ‘26 #CollectorsIssue. Photography: @zigamihelcic , @ambroisetezenas (styling by @sarahdebeaumont ), @pernilleloof , @zigamihelcic , @shewifa | Words: @aidannovaa

Sterling silverware is finding its way into the hearts of a new generation. Eager to join them? At the link in bio, discover what you need to know about sourcing, buying and using silver. لقد وجدت الفضة الإسترلينية مكانتها في قلوب جيل جديد. هل ترغب بالانضمام إليهم؟ اكتشف عبر الرابط في البايو كل ما تحتاج معرفته عن مصادر الفضة وشرائها واستخدامها. Objects depicted (in order): 1, 2. @momenty_spb 3. @centa_project 4. @maisonateeq 5. @momenty_spb

“In the spirit of Greek architecture, we want this home to stand the test of time, with the sun acting as the core connection to timelessness.” When Christopher Hatch McLean (@chatchmclean ), founder and principal of Hatch Architecture (@hatch_inc ), discovered the property’s original structure from 1989, he noticed a few strong bones, including a central circulation spine tied together by a two-story atrium with a semi-spiral stair. The house, however, required a significant transformation. “The spaces were promising but unresolved, with odd geometries and unnecessary partitions, typical of developer-built plans from that era,” he remembers. With Greek and Armenian origins, the homeowners, a couple with three young children, wanted the two-story, 485-square-metre home to be “free of visual noise,” where their heritage could be celebrated “without literal historic replication,” McLean says. Step inside the ethereal home in California at the link in bio. Photography: @yoshihiromakino | Words: @karinemonie "استلهامًا من روح العمارة اليونانية، أردنا لهذا المنزل أن يصمد أمام الزمن، وأن تكون الشمس صلته الجوهرية بالخلود." عندما اكتشف كريستوفر هاتش ماكلين، مؤسس استوديو هاتش آركيتكش، الهيكل الأصلي للمنزل العائد إلى عام 1989، لاحظ بعض العناصر المعمارية الواعدة، أبرزها محور الحركة المركزي المرتبط بأتريوم يمتد على طابقين وسلّم شبه حلزوني. لكن المنزل كان بحاجة إلى إعادة صياغة كاملة. يقول: "كانت المساحات تحمل إمكانات كبيرة، لكنها بدت غير مكتملة، بتقسيمات غير ضرورية وزوايا غريبة، وهو أمر شائع في منازل تلك الحقبة." أصحاب المنزل، وهما زوجان من أصول يونانية وأرمنية ولديهما ثلاثة أطفال، أرادا أن يكون المنزل الممتد على 485 مترًا مربعًا خالياً من الضوضاء البصرية، وأن يعكس إرثهما الثقافي بأسلوب معاصر بعيد عن الاستنساخ الحرفي للماضي. اكتشفوا هذا المنزل الحالم في كاليفورنيا عبر الرابط في البايو.

In Cairo, a city defined equally by its rich history and relentless modern-day cacophony, British decorator Emma James (@emmaajames ) has carved out an apartment in an Art Deco-inspired building from 1932; it is at once a quiet refuge and a vivid declaration of style. Born to an architect-trained father and a philanthropist mother, James spent the first 18 years of her life in a leafy suburb of Cairo. “As a little girl, that garden was my life,” she recalls. Summers, meanwhile, were spent in the Welsh and English countryside, where her grandparents lived. Her paternal grandmother was a painter and potter, her grandfather an architect, an environment that quietly shaped her early understanding of creativity and space. It was this world of flora-filled gardens and homes, alive with sketches, models, paintings-in-progress and made-and-found objects that left the deepest imprint. Today, that influence is on full display in her six-room apartment, with its wraparound curved balcony and corner view of the Nile. Tour inside the Cairo apartment at the link in bio. Photography: @shewifa | Words: @yasmine.rashidi في قلب القاهرة، المدينة التي تتسم بتاريخها العريق وضجيجها العصري المتواصل، استطاعت مصممة الديكور البريطانية إيما جيمس أن تُحوّل شقتها في مبنى مستوحى من طراز آرت ديكو يعود تاريخه إلى عام ١٩٣٢ إلى ملاذ هادئ، وفي الوقت نفسه تعبيرٌ نابضٌ بالحياة عن ذوقها الرفيع. نشأت جيمس في كنف أبٍ مهندس معماري وأمٍ منخرطة في الأعمال الخيرية، وقضت السنوات الثماني عشرة الأولى من حياتها في ضاحية هادئة من ضواحي القاهرة. تتذكر قائلةً: "كانت تلك الحديقة كل حياتي وأنا طفلة صغيرة". أما فصول الصيف، فكانت تقضيها في ريف ويلز وإنجلترا، حيث كان يعيش أجدادها. كانت جدتها لأبيها رسامة وخزافة، وجدها مهندسًا معماريًا، وهي بيئةٌ ساهمت بهدوء في تشكيل فهمها المبكر للإبداع والفضاء. كان هذا العالم من الحدائق والمنازل المليئة بالنباتات، والنابض بالحياة بالرسومات والنماذج واللوحات قيد الإنجاز والأشياء المصنوعة يدويًا والموجودة في الطبيعة، هو الذي ترك أعمق أثرٍ في نفسها. واليوم، يتجلى هذا التأثير بوضوح في شقتها المكونة من ست غرف. يمكنكم القيام بجولة داخل الشقة في القاهرة عبر الرابط في البايو.

Inside interior decorator and designer, Emma James' (@emmaajames ) Cairo apartment, she describes the colour of her bedroom's limewash walls as “almost like grapefruit, with sunlight streaming through it.” Across the room, a painting of silver birches with golden autumn leaves hangs on one wall; a tapestry of sunflowers by Ramses Wissa Wassef (@wissawassef ) on another. Above them, hand-painted golden sun rays, borrowed from the Hathor Temple at Dendera beam from a hanging brass plate. “I wanted to feel like I'm in a Maadi garden,” James explains. Watch the full video at the link in bio. Creative Producer: Fatma Hassan Video Producer: @nourhonwhonik DOP: @mohamedfathalla1 Production Manager: @mustafaakrram Editor: @mohameednabiil Grade: @gergeshelmy Production: @Redpepperfilms.uae ; @nadineyasserr1

In the centre of Cairo, interior decorator and designer Emma James (@emmaajames ) has made her home. “Cairo is my greatest muse,” she says. “I feel the most alive, I just can’t imagine not living here.” Tucked away in Zamalek — one of the capital’s storied heritage quarters — the British decorator’s 1930’s, six-room apartment uses maximalism as a fundamental form of storytelling, where a richly composed portrait of life is shaped by travel, artistic lineage, and self expression. Watch the full video at the link in bio. Creative Producer: Fatma Hassan Video Producer: @nourhonwhonik DOP: @mohamedfathalla1 Production Manager: @mustafaakrram Editor: @mohameednabiil Grade: @gergeshelmy Production: @Redpepperfilms.uae ; @nadineyasserr1

In a rare interview with AD, Syrian artist Safwan Dahoul (@safwan_dahoul ) reflects on personal trials, loss and the subtle power of his Dream series, ahead of his highly anticipated Dubai exhibition, “The Eye: An Aperture Into the Soul,” at Ayyam Gallery (@ayyamgallery ). The artist has recently returned from Shanghai, where he was showcasing an intimate solo exhibition of his soulful figurative paintings at the Start Museum, his first venture into East Asia. “The most beautiful thing that happened in my life was seeing my paintings there, while I am still alive. It was wonderful. I wish for any artist to experience this feeling,” he tells AD. Active since the 1980s, Hama-born Dahoul is one of Syria’s leading artists, with exhibitions shown around the world, from Damascus to Jeddah, Paris, London and more. Dahoul sees his art as both personal and universal (it is typically executed in a serious palette of black, white and grey tones). “We go through different phases [in life],” he says. “Without a doubt, I was first leaning towards romance and love, that sense of being in flight. I was living in that state. But with time, a person breaks down. He starts seeing fractures in himself, and in others. [So] the figure starts changing in my paintings. The romance is gone and the colours start fading away.” Read the full interview at the link in bio. *This story was featured in the April/May 2026 Issue of Architectural Digest Middle East. Photography: @aimhazi | Words: @byrawaatalass

In Palestine, stone is both everyday material and contested resource, shaped by systems of access and restriction. What gets built is not just a question of design, but of circumstance. Developed in Bethlehem by #AD100 Hall of Fame members AAU Anastas (@aauanastas ) and commissioned by ICD Brookfield Place (@icdbrookfieldplace ) and curated by Malak Abu Qaoud (@malakqaoud ), "Beam, Corbel, Ribs" turns Palestinian stone into a question of access, labour and power. The exhibition is also accompanied by a sonic composition by electronic musician Aho Ssan (@aho_ssan ), a solemn and powerful vehicle for the monologue written by Palestinian writer Karim Kattan with production by Yasmine Kaddoumi (@yasminekaddoumi ). To understand how it all comes together, AD Middle East spoke to everyone involved. Discover the full interview at the link in bio. *Beam, Corbel, Ribs is running until 2 June 2026 from 9am – 11pm, at ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai. Entry is free.

Tijuana Cultural Center, Mexico | مركز تيخوانا الثقافي، المكسيك Photograph by: Arlette Lopez

Designing for couples often means navigating opposing tastes. In this Dubai family home by Nakkash Design Studio (@nakkash.design.studio ), those differences were especially distinct. The wife, founder of jewellery brand Maveroc, was drawn to bold, sculptural interiors with expressive details, while her husband, who works in finance, preferred cleaner lines, quieter tones and a more restrained aesthetic. “The challenge was not to compromise between these two approaches, but to hold them both honestly within the same space, creating a home that feels balanced, intentional, and deeply personal,” says #AD100 designer Omar Nakkash. That balancing act shaped every part of the six-bedroom, 420-square-metre property – but so did the realities of everyday life. Open-plan living spaces, a generous kitchen and fluid communal areas were designed to accommodate that rhythm, while more intimate rooms create moments of retreat. Tour inside the Dubai villa at the link in bio. Photography: @nateleecocks | Words: @mona.basharat تصميم المنازل للأزواج غالبًا ما يعني التوفيق بين أذواق متباينة. في هذا المنزل العائلي في دبي، من تصميم نقاش ديزاين استوديو، كانت هذه الاختلافات واضحة. انجذبت الزوجة، مؤسسة علامة المجوهرات مافيروك، إلى التصاميم الداخلية الجريئة ذات الطابع النحتي والتفاصيل المعبرة، بينما فضّل زوجها، الذي يعمل في مجال التمويل، الخطوط البسيطة والألوان الهادئة. يقول المصمم عمر نقاش، الحائز على جائزة #AD100: "لم يكن التحدي يكمن في التوفيق بين هذين النهجين، بل في دمجهما معًا في نفس المساحة، لخلق منزل متوازن، مدروس، وشخصي للغاية". وقد شكّل هذا التوازن كل جزء من المنزل المكون من ست غرف نوم بمساحة 420 مترًا مربعًا، وكذلك متطلبات الحياة اليومية. صُممت مساحات المعيشة المفتوحة، والمطبخ الواسع، والمساحات المشتركة الانسيابية لتلائم هذا النمط، بينما توفر الغرف الأكثر خصوصية لحظات من الهدوء والاسترخاء. قم بجولة داخل الفيلا في دبي عبر الرابط في البايو.

Travellers are skipping restaurants in favour of supermarket aisles to experience local food culture up close, and it’s beginning to trend. And it's no shocker. Shelves of hyper-specific snacks, regional drinks and everyday staples offer a kind of unfiltered insight that even the best restaurant cannot quite replicate. There is no booking, no queue, no dress code. You can show up when you want, pick up something unfamiliar, and at worst walk away with a bag of crisps you do not like. At best, you leave with a new understanding of a place. At the link in bio, AD contributor Kieron Marchese (@kieronmarchese ) delves into the latest travel trend. Content depicted (in order): 1. imkajalmali / Tiktok 2. yantastic / Tiktok 3. Buddy Mays / Getty Images 4. @buketsenaa