Art Basel Qatar leaves no room for other fairs

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky will be the artistic director of Art Basel Qatar. This was announced by the Swiss fair, which will land in the Arab country from 5 to 7 February 2026, with previews on the 3rd and 4th creating a short circuit with many other international fairs. These are the same dates asArte Fiera in Bologna, which will take place from 6 to 8 February, with previews on the 5th, but also India's Art Fair in New Delhi and Zona Maco in Mexico City, both from 5 to 9 February, but it seems they were the only ones available at one of the locations in which Art Basel Qatar is taking place.

Wael Shawky

Represented in Italy by Lia Rumma, as well as by Sfeir Semler and Lisson Gallery, he has just opened a solo exhibition at the Luma Foundation in Arles (until 2 November) and another at the Talbot Rice Gallery in Edinburgh (until 28 September). Internationally recognised for his choral films that deal with Middle Eastern history by mixing historical episodes and present-day events, he enjoyed great success for his Egyptian Pavilion at the last Venice Biennale, which was one of the most popular. He has exhibited in museums and biennials all over the world, including the Tate, MoMA PS1, the Serpentine, and the Sharjah Biennial.

The fair will move away from the classic stand-and-wall format to adopt an open exhibition format, similar to Art Basel Unlimited, with presentations of individual artists in 33 square metres by galleries around a central theme, chosen by Shawky, which will be 'Becoming', a meditation on the ongoing transformation of humanity and the evolving systems that shape the way we live, believe and create meaning. The exhibitions will take place in two main venues - M7 and the Doha Design District - as well as selected public spaces in Msheireb, Doha's creative and cultural centre. "With this new fair format, based on an artistic vision and conceptual rigour, Art Basel will favour an immersive experience that maintains a strong market relevance," is written in the email signed by Chief Artistic Officer & Global Director of Art Basel Fairs Vincenzo De Bellis, with whom Shawky will work on the realisation of Art Basel Qatar. It is a way, therefore, to change the way of doing an art fair, putting the artistic intention at the centre and helping galleries to present artists' work with depth, without losing sight of the needs of the market. It will remain, however, a selection committee to choose the 50 or so participating galleries, composed of various representatives from the region such as Mohammed Hafiz of Athr Gallery (Jeddah, Al Ula, Riyadh), Sunny Rahbar of The Third Line (Dubai), Shireen Gandhy of Chemould Prescott Road (Mumbai), as well as Lorenzo Fiaschi of Continua, Daniela Gareh of White Cube and Gordon VeneKlasen of Michael Werner Gallery. The new fair is a partnership between Art Basel, the Swiss brand MCH Group and two Qatari state-owned companies, Qc+ and Qatar Sports Investments (Qsi). The theme chosen by Wael Shawky also seems to reflect the need for fairs to become something else and to renew themselves in the face of galleries that incur substantial expenses to participate and expect concrete results.

In this summer break, fair announcements follow one after the other, a symptom of the effort to update and respond to the needs of galleries in a difficult market, especially for small and medium-sized players. Frieze Seoul, which will open in September, announced a new permanent venue, modelled on what it already does in London with No.9 Cork Street, offering exhibition space throughout the year. While during Frieze London a fair dedicated exclusively to women-run galleries will be launched in October, with the aim of promoting gender equity in the art market, although there is rather a risk of ghettoisation.

Also in London,Photo London, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, has announced a new venue for May 2026: it will abandon the courtyard of Somerset House and move to Olympia in the heart of Kensington in 2026, a historic space that is currently undergoing a £1.3 billion redevelopment to be transformed into a vibrant cultural and entertainment hub. Another photography fair, which for years was held in September in Amsterdam until it went bankrupt in 2020, was acquired by Art Rotterdam and now the two fairs will be held together in Rotterdam from March 2026.