As the UAE’s cultural capital, Abu Dhabi has spent nearly two decades shaping the region’s creative landscape. This year, Abu Dhabi Art 2025 opened with a sense of both celebration and transition — its final edition before transforming into Frieze Abu Dhabi next year. With 142 galleries from 34 countries and more than 50 newcomers, the fair offered a sweeping look at global contemporary art, regional innovation, and the evolving cultural ecosystem of the Gulf.
A Global Welcome: Nigeria in the Atrium
Visitors entering the fair were greeted by a beautifully curated Atrium dedicated to Nigeria, highlighted as part of this year’s Global Focus programme. Created in collaboration with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, the showcase presented a dynamic portrait of the nation’s artistic identity.
Lagos-based kó gallery returned with confidence, joined by emerging exhibitors presenting works by artists such as Samuel Nnorom and the celebrated Nike Davies-Okundaye. From painted textiles to layered sculptures and expressive installations, the presentation underscored Nigeria’s rising influence on the contemporary African art scene and its ongoing expansion on the global stage.
Modern Türkiye: A Dialogue Across Time
Türkiye held its own spotlight in Modern Türkiye, a focused exhibition bridging 20th-century pioneers and socially engaged contemporary voices. Works by modern master Burhan Doğançay appeared alongside those by Ömer Uluç and conceptual artist Cengiz Çekil, creating a rich historical and cultural dialogue that emphasized the country’s continued relevance in global modernism.
The Gulf’s Quiet Strength
The Gulf’s contribution to the Global Focus sector revealed itself gradually — a soft highlight for those who lingered long enough to see it. Among the standout presentations was Hunna Art’s Ecologies of Being, featuring artists Zayn Qahtani, Alymamah Rashed, and Joud Fahmy.
Bahraini artist Qahtani’s Fool For You (2025) captivated viewers with a heart-shaped motif set against paper made from Bahraini date palms — a striking fusion of traditional material and contemporary visual language.
Nearby, Tunisian artist Amira Lamti presented captivating printed mosaics at Yosr Ben Ammar Gallery. What initially appeared as hand-painted compositions revealed themselves to be UV-printed photographs documenting rituals, henna ceremonies, fish motifs, and wedding jewelry — a puzzle-like archive of tradition rendered in contemporary form.
Gateway: Seeds of Memory – Migration, Ritual, and Renewal
Curated by Brook Andrew, the Gateway exhibition titled Seeds of Memory examined migration as ceremony and survival. The journey began with a subtle scent of ube, a Philippine yam, leading visitors into a section curated by Filipino collective Sa Tahanan Co.
The installation Cooking from a Migrant Memory Iteration II by Jou Pabalate and Alexis Convento incorporated edible objects — from BBQ-flavored rice crisps to tamarind balls — inviting visitors to experience migration through taste and texture. Their personal and familial stories, spanning Saudi Arabia, the US, and the Philippines, intertwined into a moving portrait of diaspora identity.
Syrian-British artist Issam Kourbaj offered another meditation on migration, using discarded cardboard collected during the fair’s installation period as structural material. His assemblages — fish bones, tent fragments, humble objects — explored displacement through the fragile traces left behind by human movement.
Art + Tech: Reimagining Heritage Digitally
This year, the fair introduced Art + Tech, a dedicated section hosted by reimagined, a new platform advancing art-technology collaborations. The exhibition unfolded in two parts:
Blockchain Native
Featuring international artists experimenting with blockchain-based creative production from the past four years.
Evolving Heritage
A standout collaboration where Dr. Ahmad Alattar, senior robotics engineer, mentored university students in projection mapping, electronics, and kinetic installation.
The result: an immersive environment where traditional Emirati Sadu patterns were digitally animated across walls, blending heritage motifs with the mechanics of modern innovation.
An Ending — and a Beginning
The 17th and final edition of Abu Dhabi Art marked the close of a significant chapter. Over its long run, the fair has become a vital platform for galleries, regional artists, global institutions, and emerging talent. Its next evolution — Frieze Abu Dhabi — promises international scale, bold programming, and a reimagined role within the global art calendar.
But for now, Abu Dhabi Art bids farewell with confidence — leaving behind a legacy of connection, curiosity, and cultural momentum.
