Art Basel has announced it will launch a new fair in Doha, Qatar in February 2026. The event, called Art Basel Qatar, will take place in the M7 museum and cultural center, as well as the Doha Design District.The fair’s first edition will be staged near the National Museum of Qatar and feature around 50 galleries in a “tightly curated selection,” a spokesperson told Art News. Organizers say the fair will highlight modern and contemporary art from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and beyond.
The initiative is a collaboration between Art Basel and its parent company, MCH Group, alongside Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+, a local cultural commerce collective. The partnership aims to integrate Art Basel Qatar into both the regional arts ecosystem and the broader global circuit.
The new event comes on the heels of other cultural programming in Qatar. Qatar Museums, for instance, is planning to open two new museums in the next five years. The government entity that manages Qatar’s museums, led by Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, will open the Art Mill Museum for modern and contemporary art, as well as and the Lusail Museum, which is focused on “Orientalist painting and photography” by 2030. The Middle Eastern nation also recently announced it will establish a permanent national pavilion in Venice’s Giardini in time for the Venice Biennale 2026. “We have built a thriving ecosystem of culture and sports, harnessing the capacity of both to break down barriers, create shared experiences, increase understanding, and drive positive change,” said Sheikha Al Mayassa in a press statement.
The Middle East has been seeing increased attention from the art world. A flurry of new art fairs have arrived in the region over the last couple of decades, such as Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art. Earlier this year, the 2025 Sharjah Biennial brought contributions from more than 140 artists, including Arthur Jafa and Lorna Simpson. And Sheikha Al-Mayassa herself was featured, along with several other major players in the region, on last year’s Power 100 list.
“The art scene across the MENA region has undergone exponential growth in recent decades, with the establishment of world-class institutions, the launch of leading cultural events, and the growth of a vibrant community of artists, galleries, and professionals,” said Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz. “We are compelled by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s singular vision for the arts ecosystem in Qatar, and we share a commitment to supporting artists in realising their highest potential.
Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), which also played a role in drawing the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar, is one of the main backers of the Art Basel partnership. That year, Qatar Museums also installed more than 40 public artworks by artists such as Richard Serra and Yayoi Kusama around Doha. “As that event demonstrated so unforgettably, sports and culture are closely linked in their capacity to unite people and bring the world together, which is at the heart of QSI’s mission,” His Excellency Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, chairman of QSI, said in a press statement.
This new fair builds on Art Basel’s continued expansion beyond its base in Switzerland, which began with the launch of Art Basel Miami Beach in 2002. The new fair now joins a global lineup that includes annual fairs in Basel, Paris, and Hong Kong.
The announcement, however, comes amid a cooling art market. According to the latest UBS Art Basel market report, sales fell 12% in 2024 due to ongoing geopolitical and economic instability. Art Basel’s decision to invest in the Middle East shows a focus on bringing the region into the global art market. “Qatar’s depth of collections, history of building great cultural institutions and unique role as an incubator and supporter of talent position the new Art Basel Qatar for success on the world stage,” Horowitz said.
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