Major 2026 Art Events: Desert X AlUla, Whitney Biennial, Venice Biennale, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Opening
The 2026 art calendar is packed with exciting events. It starts with Desert X AlUla's fourth edition, "Space Without Measure," running from January 16 to February 28, directed by Neville Wakefield and Raneem Farsi. Next, Colomboscope's ninth edition, "Rhythm Alliances," will happen in Colombo from January 21 to 31, led by Natasha Ginwala and Hajra Haider Karrar. In Riyadh, the third Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale will take place from January 30 to May 2, while Art Basel Qatar will debut in Doha from February 5 to 7. Notable events include the 82nd Whitney Biennial starting March 8, Art Dubai's 20th anniversary from April 17 to 19, and the 61st Venice Biennale from May 9 to November 22. The Alexandria Biennale returns on September 12, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is set to open in 2026.
Key facts
- Desert X AlUla runs 16 January to 28 February 2026 in AlUla with theme 'Space Without Measure'.
- Colomboscope's ninth edition is from 21 to 31 January 2026 in Colombo with over 50 artists.
- Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale's third edition is from 30 January to 2 May 2026 in Riyadh.
- Art Basel Qatar debuts 5 to 7 February 2026 in Doha with 84 artists and 87 galleries.
- 1-54 Marrakech is from 5 to 8 February 2026 at La Mamounia with over 20 galleries.
- 82nd Whitney Biennial starts 8 March 2026 with 56 artists co-curated by Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer.
- 25th Biennale of Sydney runs 14 March to 14 June 2026 across five locations.
- 61st Venice Biennale is from 9 May to 22 November 2026 in Venice curated by Koyo Kouoh.
- Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opens in 2026 on Saadiyat Island, designed by Frank Gehry.
- Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent opens in March 2026 with exhibition 'Hikmah'.
Entities
Artists
- Neville Wakefield
- Raneem Farsi
- Wejdan Reda
- Zoé Whitley
- Kahlil Gibran
- Natasha Ginwala
- Hajra Haider Karrar
- Haseeb Ahmed
- Sabeen Omar
- Charwei Tsai
- Farah Deen
- Nora Razian
- Sabih Ahmed
- Maan Abu Taleb
- May Makki
- Kabelo Malatsie
- Lantian Xie
- Rand Abdul Jabbar
- Ahaad Alamoudi
- Taysir Batniji
- Nour Mobarak
- Wael Shawky
- Vincenzo de Bellis
- Khalil Rabah
- Nour Jaouda
- Maud Houssais
- Yassine Balbzioui
- Marcela Guerrero
- Drew Sawyer
- Beatriz Cifuentes
- Carina Martinez
- Basel Abbas
- Ruanne Abou-Rahme
- Kamrooz Aram
- Ali Eyal
- Samia Halaby
- Hoor Al Qasimi
- Behrouz Boochani
- Hoda Afshar
- Vernon Ah Kee
- Joana Hadjithomas
- Khalil Joreige
- Joe Namy
- Gayane Umerova
- Sara Raza
- Ali Cherri
- Nadia Kaabi-Linke
- Kimsooja
- Tarik Kiswanson
- Vladimir Pan
- Shukhrukh Rakhimov
- Bakhtiyar Saipov
- Daribay Saipov
- Muhannad Shono
- Nari Ward
- Dunja Gottweiss
- Dr Sarah A Rifky
- Amal Khalaf
- Ulrich Schrauth
- Nadine Khalil
- Alexie Glass-Kantor
- Ryan Inouye
- Danielle A Jackson
- Liz Park
- Alia Farid
- Sanchayan Ghosh
- Eric Gyamfi
- Koyo Kouoh
- Dana Awartani
- Nilbar Güreş
- Nabil Nahas
- Yto Barrada
- Abbas Akhavan
- Younès Ben Slimane
- Mona Benyamin
- Hajra Waheed
- Gamel Abdel Nasser
- Moataz Nasr
- Frank Gehry
Institutions
- Canvas
- Desert X
- AlUla Arts Festival
- Colomboscope
- Barefoot Gallery
- Colpetty Townhouse
- Kamatha at BMICH
- Liberty by Scope Cinemas
- Musicmatters
- Radicle Gallery
- Rio Complex
- Soul Studio
- Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale
- JAX District
- Art Basel Qatar
- M7
- Doha Design District
- Msheireb Downtown Doha
- Art Basel Fairs
- 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
- La Mamounia
- The Lobster Edition
- The Art Affair
- Imvelo Art Studios
- ELEPHANT
- Fondation TGC
- LE 18
- Musée Yves Saint Laurent
- Whitney Biennial
- Biennale of Sydney
- Campbelltown Arts Centre
- Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent
- Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation
- ACDF
- Studio KO
- Clubistan
- CCA Radio
- Art Dubai
- Madinat Jumeirah
- Carnegie International
- Carnegie Museum of Art
- Venice Biennale
- La Biennale di Venezia
- Arsenale
- Giardini
- Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement
- BIM
- Jaou Tunis
- Kamel Lazaar Foundation
- Centre d’ Art Contemporain Genève
- Alexandria Biennale
- Fouad Street
- Qaitbay Citadel
- Alexandria Library
- Frieze Abu Dhabi
- Abu Dhabi Art
- Manarat Al Saadiyat
- Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
- Saadiyat Island
- Louvre Abu Dhabi
- Zayed National Museum
Locations
- AlUla
- Saudi Arabia
- Colombo
- Sri Lanka
- Riyadh
- Doha
- Qatar
- Marrakech
- Morocco
- New York
- United States
- Sydney
- Australia
- Tashkent
- Uzbekistan
- Dubai
- United Arab Emirates
- Pittsburgh
- Venice
- Italy
- Tunis
- Tunisia
- Geneva
- Switzerland
- Alexandria
- Egypt
- Abu Dhabi