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The first-edition verdict: Art Basel Qatar plants its flag in Doha
Art Basel Qatar officially closed its inaugural edition after welcoming more than 17,000 visitors across February 3–7, 2026 (including VIP Days), staged between M7 and Doha Design District. Alongside the fair, Special Projects were dispersed across the Msheireb (มชีเรบ) district, ensuring the event did not remain confined to a single hall but unfolded as an experience embedded in the city itself, designed to draw collectors from the MENASA region (the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia).
MENASA collectors and buying power across every price tier
According to Art Basel Qatar, nearly half of the collectors and patrons present by the fair’s closing came from MENASA, with visible participation from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Many galleries reported substantive conversations with new collectors and institutions across multiple countries, particularly from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Europe, translating into confirmed sales across a wide spectrum of price points.
Demand was especially pronounced for works by artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Several galleries noted that audiences gravitated toward solo presentations and standout works, spanning both established names and emerging voices. The pattern points to a collector base in the region that is not only robust, but increasingly ready to engage in concrete, informed dialogue with contemporary art’s global practices.
Qatar: a new pin on the global art map?
Art Basel Qatar also signaled strong state-level and institutional engagement. His Highness The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, alongside senior officials, visited the fair, as did Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation and UN SDG advocate; His Highness Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir’s Personal Representative; His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, alongside several other ministers.
On the institutional front, representatives from more than 85 museums and foundations attended, reinforcing the first edition’s positioning as a serious site for discovery and institutional connection. The list spanned Qatar’s Art Mill Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art, and Mathaf; regional institutions including Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Art Foundation, and Jameel Arts Centre in the UAE, as well as MISK Art Institute in Saudi Arabia; and major international names such as Pinault Collection, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Palais de Tokyo, Fondation Beyeler, LUMA Foundation, Dia Art Foundation, Tate, Serpentine Galleries, Whitney Museum of American Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, MoMA PS1, New Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, He Art Museum, and Leeum Samsung Museum of Art.
Noah Horowitz (โนอาห์ โฮโรวิทซ์), Chief Executive Officer of Art Basel, said the inaugural Art Basel Qatar affirmed a shared vision and laid the groundwork for a fair calibrated to MENASA’s dynamism and potential, with a long-term role in elevating artists and building market infrastructure. Vincenzo de Bellis (วินเชนโซ เดอ เบลลิส), Art Basel’s Chief Artistic Officer and Global Director of Art Basel Fairs, emphasised that the founding objective was not to replicate an existing fair model, but to respond meaningfully to the context of artists, the city, and the region, while thanking Wael Shawky (วาเอล ชอว์กี), Artistic Director of Art Basel Qatar 2026, for shaping its creative direction.
Art Basel Qatar 2027: the next step
A debut attendance figure of 17,000 is an impressive opening statement, helping place the country more firmly on the global art map. As for the next edition in 2027, further details will be announced in due course.
Story: Tae Art Man
