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 
![When Amal Rakibi (@amalrakibigallery) and her husband decided to rent an ageing Al Barsha villa, they agreed on one condition: that they would be free to completely transform the interiors. “We told the owner we would take the house if he gave us the green light to do whatever we wanted,” she recalls. “And he did.”The transformation began with the staircase. The original structure was gutted and replaced with a dramatic spiral form that now anchors the interior. From there, the rest of the house evolved gradually. “You always start with a vision,” she says. “Then you realise something isn’t working, so you add [to it] until it feels right.”Discover the full home tour at the link in bio.Video by: @fatmanism | Words: @mona.basharatعندما قررت أمل راكيبي وزوجها استئجار فيلا قديمة في البرشاء، اتفقا على شرطٍ واحد: أن تكون لهما الحرية الكاملة في إعادة تشكيل المساحات الداخلية. وتستذكر قائلة: "أخبرنا المالك أننا سنستأجر المنزل إذا منحنا الضوء الأخضر لنفعل ما نريد — وقد وافق."بدأ التحوّل من الدرج. فقد أُزيل الهيكل الأصلي بالكامل واستُبدل بدرج حلزوني درامي أصبح اليوم العنصر المحوري الذي يرتكز عليه التصميم الداخلي. ومن هناك، أخذ المنزل يتطوّر تدريجياً. وتقول: "تبدأ دائماً برؤية، ثم تكتشف أن شيئاً ما لا يعمل كما يجب، فتضيف وتعدّل حتى يصل المكان إلى توازنه."اكتشفوا الجولة الكاملة للمنزل عبر الرابط في البايو.](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6747121818183713423614_0_1fc90fd18e0c066bd88bfad1566fa4d4.jpg?o=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&h=394813af90d6f0d4520adcd27bc792d7)
