Art Basel Qatar 2026
Art Basel Qatar 2026 will be held in Doha in February, with Wael Shawky appointed as Artistic Director.Summary
Art Basel Qatar 2026 is scheduled to take place over three days from February 5th to 7th, 2026, centered around two venues in Doha: M7 and the Doha Design District. This marks the launch of Art Basel's fifth fair, established in partnership with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and cultural strategy firm QC+. The event is anticipated to become a major art fair in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region, alongside Frieze Abu Dhabi. A key feature of the inaugural edition is the introduction of an Artistic Director, a role filled by the prominent regional artist Wael Shawky, who also represents Egypt at the Venice Biennale and manages art initiatives like MASS Alexandria. The 'Galleries' section will deviate from the traditional booth format, adopting an exhibition structure where galleries respond to Shawky's overarching theme, "Becoming." This section features 87 galleries, with over half of the 84 exhibiting artists hailing from the MENASA region, including Japanese artists Shizuko Kubota and Katsumi Nakai. The 'Special Projects' section, co-curated by Shawky and Vincenzo De Bellis, shares the "Becoming" theme and will showcase a diverse range of works, from film and sculpture to performance and architecture, across the Msheireb district.
(Source：ART iT)