London-based Frieze, which currently operates seven art fairs around the world, is set to add one more. On Friday, the company announced that it will launch a fair in Abu Dhabi in November 2026, via a partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi).
DCT Abu Dhabi currently organizes the region’s leading homegrown fair, Abu Dhabi Art, which started in 2007. That fair’s 2025 edition will proceed as planned. The 2026 edition will see it become the inaugural edition of Frieze Abu Dhabi, which will take place at Manarat Al Saadiyat in the Saadiyat Cultural District.
In a statement, DCT Abu Dhabi chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak said, “For nearly two decades, Abu Dhabi Art has reflected our vision of culture as a driver of dialogue, connection, and creativity, supported by a vibrant ecosystem of museums, residencies, and institutions that nurture both established and emerging artists. The launch of Frieze Abu Dhabi is a natural evolution of that journey. It is rooted in the achievements of Abu Dhabi Art and will carry them onto the global stage, reinforcing the emirate’s position as a cultural capital while offering Frieze a unique gateway to the region. Together, we are creating a fair that is not only international in reach but also deeply connected to the values and strengths of Abu Dhabi.”
Frieze has steadily grown its fair portfolio in recent years. In 2023, it acquired the Armory Show in New York and Expo Chicago. That same year, it launched a fair in Seoul, following expansions to Los Angeles in 2019, and New York in 2012. Its signature fair Frieze London opened its first edition in 2003, while Frieze Masters, which runs concurrently on the other side of Regents Park, began in 2012. It also now operates year-round exhibition spaces in London and Seoul.
Earlier this week, Frieze was officially acquired by Mari, a newly formed company founded by Ari Emanuel, with a reported $2 billion in equity raised to back the new company, which includes tennis events and a majority stake in a collector car auction house. The new company’s leading investors are Apollo, RedBird Capital Partners, and the Qatar Investment. The launch of Frieze Abu Dhabi, according to a release, “represents the first major initiative under Frieze’s new ownership and reflects a shared ambition, underlining Abu Dhabi as a centre for culture and creativity, while giving Frieze a unique position in the Gulf’s most established art ecosystem.”
Frieze is not the first international art fair to launch in the Gulf region. This past May, Art Basel announced that it would launch a fair in Doha, the capital of Qatar. (Last year, it was rumored that Art Basel would take over Abu Dhabi Art and relaunch it as an Art Basel–branded fair.) Art Basel Qatar is notably different from the Swiss company’s other fairs; it is smaller, announcing 87 exhibitors earlier this week, and has an overarching curatorial theme, chosen by its artistic director, artist Wael Shawky.
In Abu Dhabi, Frieze will join a growing art scene with several institutions opened or planned. Among them are the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2016, and the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, which opened in 2014. The Zayed National Museum, which will focus on Emerati history and culture, will open in December, while the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is slated to open next year.
While Abu Dhabi, which was named the world’s wealthiest city in 2024, doesn’t have as robust of a commercial gallery scene as nearby Dubai, the emirate has been active in the art market. In 2024, Sotheby’s received a $1 billion cash injection from ADQ, the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund. This past February, the auction hosted its first sale in Saudi Arabia, which brought in $17.3 million. And in December it will host the first edition of Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week, a series of luxury sales that will see cars, watches, and jewels hit the block.
“We are honoured to work alongside DCT Abu Dhabi on the launch of Frieze Abu Dhabi,” Frieze CEO Simon Fox said in a statement. “Abu Dhabi’s cultural leadership, underpinned by its world-class museums, institutions, and commitment to the arts, provides the foundation for this collaboration. Combined with the reach of Frieze’s global platform, we can amplify the emirate’s achievements while opening new possibilities for discovery, championing artistic practices from the region, and shaping the fair as a space for conversation and exchange.”
