The annual art festival will be held from November 14 to November 17, 2018 in the cultural center "Manarat al-Saadiyat".
There will be 43 local, regional and international galleries, as well as new galleries from 19 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East. The festival will bring together gallery owners, artists, collectors, curators, museum directors and critics from around the world. Galleries will present the work of famous artists of the last fifty years. Among the galleries that returned this year to participate in the festival, the following should be noted: ATHR (Jeddah), Ceysson & Bénétière (Paris), GALLERIA CONTINUA (San Gimignano, Beijing, Le Mulins, Havana), Giorgio Persano (Turin) and Hanart TZ Gallery (Hong Kong). New entrants: Galerie Mitterand (Paris), Galerie Isa (Mumbai) and Plutschow Gallery (Zurich).
In the "specialized galleries" section, which were selected by Dr. Omar Holif, on the topic Images, key figures will be presented who will not only shape and influence contemporary art of the last fifty years, but also those personalities who set precedents and pave the way for future generations of artists through a diverse set of practices. Eight participating galleries on the topic: Images and their artists: Thomas Ruff and Janie Holzer - Sprüth Magers Gallery (London, Berlin, Los Angeles), James Tarrell - Kayne Griffin Corcoran (Los Angeles), Monir Shahrudi Farmanfarmian and Rana Begum - The Third Line Gallery (Dubai), Huget Kalan - Galerie Janine Rubeiz (Lebanon), Mona Saudi - Lawrie Shabibi (Dubai), Michael Rakovits - Pi Artworks (Istanbul, London), Ahmed Morsi - Gypsum Gallery (Cairo), and Mohammed Kazem - Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde (Dubai).
The Abu Dhabi Art Festival will also see the return of the Special Projects category, where participating galleries will focus on organizing the presentation of one or two artists. Participants in this category are: Plutschow Gallery with a presentation of the Zirou movement of German artists - Otto Pienne and Heinz Mack, Aicon Gallery with a focus on Anila Kwaum Agha, Hafez Gallery, which represents Ibrahim El Dessouki and Mohammed Mandur, Le Violon Bleu, which represents Farida Belgium and Abderrazek Sahli, and the Meem Gallery, representing Zhivago Duncan.
In addition to the gallery program, Abu Dhabi Art 2018 will feature a series of inspiring cultural discussions organized by Nada Shabout and Salva Mikdadi about the art circuit and global and local perspectives for countries with a new art market. Visitors and collectors will be given the opportunity to plunge into contemporary performing arts through the sixth edition of Durub Al Tawaya, the Performing Arts Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Program is again hosted by Tarek Abu Al-Fetuh. An exhibition of visual art takes place as part of the festival and opens up unique curatorial perspectives from guest curators each year. This exhibition will be organized in 2018 by Hammad Nazar.
An exhibition entitled “Structures of Significance / Architecture of Perception” considers works of art as structures through which perception is accumulated. The famous UAE artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim will also present a section titled “Beyond”: new artists. The festival organizers also attracted three more artists to create works that convey the cultural attractions of Al Ain.
