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Marking its 20th anniversary this year, Art Dubai returns with a special edition that is, though scaled back, deeply rooted in the flourishing local art scene that the organisation has helped to enrich over the last two decades.
Since 2007, Art Dubai has platformed artists from across the SWANA region, offering a place to build connections and drive forward international dialogue, while solidifying Dubai’s place in the global art landscape.
“This special edition is, above all, a testament to what 20 years of building can do,” commented Benedetta Ghione, Executive Director of Art Dubai Group. “The heartbeat of this edition is the continued belief that coming together still matters, especially now.”
Swipe through for our selection of the must-see presentations, programming and gallery shows across the city and its environs.
Art Dubai will take place at Madinat Jumeirah from 15-17 May.
Feeling dazed after an intense Vernissage week? Us too.
Pelham looks back on a whirlwind week of you-had-to-be-there moments that will no doubt drive you to envy everything the team got up to in Venice.
Step away from the chaos and crowds of the Arsenale and Giardini to explore the quieter, more reflective corners of Venice and absorb the extraordinary atmosphere that La Serenissima has to offer.
These are the exhibitions taking place in churches, galleries and unique venues around the city that offer both respite from the intensity of the main exhibition space and an opportunity to engage deeply with the contemporary art scene across the lagoon city.
Image 2: The National Pavilion of Syria at Biennale Arte 2026. Courtesy of Sara Shamma. Photography @andreaferrophotography .
Image 3: Photo @uchaotica
Image 6: Courtesy of ACDF.
Image 8: Courtesy of Lisson Gallery.
Image 10: Courtesy Dicastero per la Cultura e l’Educazione
At SMAC San Marco Art Centre, the AWITA Honours Leaders in Culture ceremony recognised cultural leaders working in the arts.
The inaugural Honours coincide with AWITA’s 10th anniversary, and with the Biennale as a focal point, the initiative brings into focus individuals whose leadership is redefining cultural infrastructures and shaping future narratives while highlighting the organisation’s own role in expanding viability and equity for women in the arts.
Sigrid Kirk, Co-Founder of AWITA, shared: “At a moment when the art world converges, our 2026 Honourees represent a standard of practice for a positive future-leadership that is generous, visionary, and accountable.”
Heartfelt congratulations to all of the inaugural 2026 honourees!
Photography: Hannah Goldsmith @goldsmith_studio
The Venice Biennale is upon us and once again the art world is returning to the city - drifting between piazzas, negotiating the busy circuit of events, and gathering for long conversations over spritzes.
At the heart of it all, Pelham Communications is proud to be working with some of the most compelling voices in contemporary art participating in exhibitions unfolding across the Giardini, Arsenale and citywide venues.
Make sure to add these to your itinerary:
📍Giardini
Nordic Countries Pavilion @nordiccountriespavilion
Gallery 1957 presents Godfried Donkor, Main Exhibition @gallery1957@godfrieddonkor
📍Arsenale
Uzbekistan National Pavilion @uzbekistan_national_pavilion
Oman National Pavilon @haithamnow_
📍Antico Refettorio, Scuola Grande di San Marco
Democratic Republic of Congo National Pavilion @rdcongopavillon
📍Iuav University of Venice - Cotonificio
National Pavilion of Syria @sara.shamma.artist
📍Palazzo Franchetti
The Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent presents ‘Instruments of the Mind’ @cca_tashkent
📍Palazzo Contarini Polignac
Pinchuk Arts Centre presents ‘Still Joy — From Ukraine into the World’ @pinchukartcentre
From Godfried Donkor’s powerful tribute to his longstanding friendship and professional dialogue with Kouoh, to the unveiling of a monumental new installation by Hugh Hayden - Venice is set to platform outstanding artist presentations across both the main exhibition at La Biennale d’Arte and satellite exhibitions across the city.
Here’s our curated selection of those to see: which artists are on your radar?
Image 1: Godfried Donkor, St Jack Broughton vs St George Stevenson, 2019. Oil, acrylic and gold leaf on linen, 188 × 193 cm. Copyright the artist, courtesy of Gallery 1957
Image 3: Ranti Bam, Into Heartland, 2022. Photo by Andrew Eseibo.
Image 5: Godfried Donkor Collage work from ‘The First Day of the Yam Custom 1817’ by Godfried Donkor. Copyright the artist, and courtesy Gallery 1957, Accra.
Image 6: Hugh Hayden, Portrait, courtesy of Lisson Gallery.
Image 8: Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, courtesy of the artist.
Image 10: Sammy Baloji, Portrait by Kevin Faingnaert.
Image 12: Big Chief Demond Melancon, Africa, 2011. Courtesy of the Artist.
As part of its institutional programming, Sharjah Architecture Triennial presents ‘A Journey into Architecture Archives: Baghdad, Damascus, Tunis’.
Opening 2 May, this project - the latest in an ongoing series since 2023 - reflects SAT’s long-term commitment to promoting and safeguarding the architectural history of the region. For the first time, it takes the form of a Collection Room to foster quieter forms of engagement.
At a time of ongoing political precarity, this project feels especially urgent, foregrounding the fragile state of architectural archives across the Arab world and the critical need to preserve them. Through drawings, models and films, it reactivates histories that are often fragmented, endangered or overlooked, positioning the archive as a living, evolving resource.
Image Credits:
1. Hotel du Lac, Tunis, 1973, Raffaele Contigiani, View. Credit: Sylvain Bonniol
3. Hotel Orient Palace, Damascus, 1933, Antoine Tabet, View. Credit: George Arbid
5. Baghdad Mayoralty, Iraq, 1975-82, Hisham Munir, Elevation (Front and Rear). Credit: Baghdad Mayoralty
7. Kawthar Mosque, Damascus, 1965, Abdul-Mohsen Kodmani, Preliminary design. Credit: Omran Kodmani
“What happens when the visitor is no longer looking at adornment, but standing inside it?” - Haitham Al Busafi, Artist and Curator, who will represent Oman at this year’s La Biennale di Venezia.
Inverting conventions of spectatorship, the exhibition entitled ‘Zīnah’ will reposition Al-zanaah (the tradition of Omani silver horse adornment) from objects of craft or decoration into a monumental, participatory environment of sand, suspended metal, and collectively generated sound.
‘Zīnah’ proposes that adornment is an ethical act, care is a form of knowledge, and beauty belongs to all beings - explore these themes at the Pavilion of the Sultanate of Oman in the Arsenale from 9 May 2026.
An examination of preservation as both culinary practice and political condition - ‘Sour Things: The Door’ by Palestinian artist Mirna Bamieh at NIKA Project Space Paris is now open.
Curated by Anne Davidian, the exhibition addresses migration and the unstable terms on which movement is granted or refused, through an immersive installation featuring sculpture, video and drawing.
While grounded in Bamieh’s lived experience, who left Palestine in 2023 and has since been navigating the residency process in Portugal, the installation resonates with broader conditions of displacement and echoes the emotional tension of waiting, uncertainty, and conditional access.
‘Sour Things: The Door’ is on view at NIKA Project Space, Paris, until 23 May.
