World Art Dubai 2026: Dates, Tickets, Location

World Art Dubai 2026

In this guide, you will find the dates, opening hours, ticket prices and how to get there. Then come what to see, the curators, last year's artists and sales, the exhibitor list, how to buy art and how the fair differs from Art Dubai.

What Is World Art Dubai?

World Art Dubai is a large art fair where you can see art and buy it straight from the people who made it. Solo artists and galleries rent stands in the exhibition halls and hang their work there. You walk from stand to stand, talk to the artists and buy what you like.

This year's fair will be the 12th edition. The organisers expect more than 300 exhibitors from more than 65 countries, with about 10,000 works on show. Prices run from about US$100 to US$20,000 (about AED 367 to AED 73,450), so a first piece does not have to cost much.

The fair suits anyone who likes art, from first-time buyers to families, and you do not need to know anything about art to enjoy it. Dubai World Trade Centre runs the fair, and Dubai Culture is its strategic partner. Four curators choose the work this year. Rachael Brown and Stéphane de Boysson are new to the fair, and Gottfried Eisenberger and Samar Kamel are back for another year.

World Art Dubai 2026 Dates

World Art Dubai 2026 will run from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November 2026. That is four days in a row, from a working Thursday to a weekend Sunday.

Opening hours

The fair will be open from 1pm to 9pm on all four days. The organisers have not given a last-entry time, so arrive by about 7pm if you want two hours to walk the halls. As at most Dubai exhibitions, the weekday afternoons will be the quietest, and the evenings and the weekend will be busier.

The daily programme

Talks, workshops and live art will run all afternoon and evening. The official programme has a tab for each day, with every session and its start time. One day at the fair looks like this:

To see what is on the day you plan to go, open the official World Art Dubai programme and press the tab for that date.

World Art Dubai 2026 Tickets

Tickets for World Art Dubai 2026 start at about AED 20, and children aged 11 and under go free. The official ticket seller is Platinumlist, and early bird tickets are on sale there now.

The ticket gets you into the halls for the day. The workshops, talks and live performances are included in the ticket, so you do not pay again inside. Buying art is separate: you pay the artist or gallery for any work you take home.

Here is how to buy a ticket:

1. Open the World Art Dubai 2026 page on Platinumlist. Use the "Official tickets" button at the top of this guide, or the "Get your tickets" button on worldartdubai.com.
2. Press "Select tickets". Choose your day and the ticket type. The early bird price shows here.
3. Add only the adults and children aged 12 and over. Children aged 11 and under go free, so they do not need a paid ticket.
4. Pay and keep the e-ticket on your phone. Show it at the entrance of Za'abeel Halls 2 and 3.

Platinumlist does not show when the early bird price ends. So if you know your day, buy early. Platinumlist says refunds and resale "vary by event", so read the terms on the checkout page before you pay.

World Art Dubai 2026 Location

World Art Dubai 2026 will be at the Dubai World Trade Centre, in Za'abeel Halls 2 and 3. It will not be at Expo City, even though some older pages still say so. This section explains why.

The Dubai World Trade Centre is on Sheikh Zayed Road, next to the World Trade Centre Metro station. Za'abeel Halls are part of the same exhibition centre. Type "Za'abeel Hall, Dubai World Trade Centre" into your maps app, or use this button:

How to get to World Art Dubai

The Metro is the easiest way in, because parking near the halls is limited. These are your four options:

• By Metro: take the Red Line to World Trade Centre station. If you want to drive part of the way, park at Rashidiya, Nakheel Harbour and Tower, or Etisalat station and take the train from there. You need a Nol card, which every Metro station sells.
• By Uber or Careem: enter the code WORLDART2026 in the app. It gives you 15% off two rides to or from the fair, up to AED 15 a ride, on trips from 18 to 22 November.
• By taxi: RTA taxis wait at the taxi hub. You can also book one on 800 88088. The ride takes about 15 to 20 minutes from Downtown Dubai or DXB airport, and 25 to 35 minutes from Dubai Marina.
• By car: you can pay to park at the Exhibition Street multi-storey, on Al Mustaqbal Street or at the Sheikh Rashid Tower multi-storey. Sheikh Rashid Tower has very few spaces, so arrive early.

Is World Art Dubai Cancelled?

No. World Art Dubai 2026 is not cancelled. The organisers moved it from April to November, and that is why some people think it was called off.

What to See at World Art Dubai 2026

The heart of the fair is the art for sale: about 10,000 works by solo artists and galleries. You will find painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media and textile art, from small prints to large canvases. Around the stands, the fair will run workshops, talks and live performances all day.

Here is what is new or worth knowing this year:

• Emirati Artists Pavilion: a space for Emirati artists, next to the international stands. It first opened in 2025, as the Emirati Pavilion with 50 artists.
• PhotoWAD: a section for photography, from fine art and portraits to documentary work.
• Artist in Residence: artists who work with Dubai hotels, including Hotel Indigo Downtown Dubai, SO/Uptown and Radisson RED.
• Emerging Artist Prize: a prize for digital art, run with Rove Hotels. The shortlist will be out on 15 November, and the fair will announce the winners on stage.
• School work: students will show their own art at the fair.

This short official film from the last day of the 2025 fair shows what the halls look like:

World Art Dubai 2026 Curators

The curators decide which artists and galleries get a stand at World Art Dubai, and how each stand shows its work. Every exhibitor has to meet the fair's selection criteria, and the curatorial team checks each stand plan and artwork list before the doors open. This year there are four curators, two new and two returning, and they work with an art advisor. You can read their profiles on the official World Art Dubai website.

Gottfried Eisenberger has said the team wants clear stands that make buying easy, rather than a little of everything. So on many stands you will see a series, several works by one artist in the same style, which lets you compare sizes and prices before you commit. If you want someone to walk you through the halls, join the WAD Art Walk, a guided tour that starts at 3.45pm.

Family Day and workshops for children

Sunday 22 November will be Family Day, with workshops and creative activities for children. Children aged 11 and under get in free on every day, so a family of two adults and two young children pays for two tickets.

The programme also has children's sessions on the other days. One is "Color and Shape: Stylized Clay Birds for Kids" at 2.30pm, and another is "Textured Art on Canvas" at 5pm, for ages 7 and over. Workshops last about an hour, and places go to whoever comes first, so get to the WAD Studio a few minutes early.

Artists and Pieces at World Art Dubai 2025

World Art Dubai 2025 brought together more than 400 artists and over 120 galleries from 65 countries, with more than 10,000 original works for sale. It was the 11th edition and ran from 17 to 20 April 2025 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Most works were priced up to US$20,000 (about AED 73,450). The organisers say art sales rose by 28% compared with the year before.

The 2025 fair had these pavilions and special spaces:

• 12 country pavilions: Mongolia, Estonia, Zimbabwe and Australia were new, and China was the Country of Honour.
• Emirati Pavilion: it opened with 50 Emirati artists, among them Mohamed Al Astad, Rashid Al Mulla, Abdulrahim Salim and Dr Najat Makki.
• Textile Hub: this new space showed 14 textile artists from nine countries.

Pieces people loved in 2025

The two Banksy works were the headline of the fair. The first Philippine Pavilion and the Emirati artists who work with natural materials also drew a lot of attention. The organisers and the UAE press picked out these works and stands:

For collectors, the Banksy stand was a lesson in provenance. Wonderwall Fine Arts says it sources the works in the UK, restores them and keeps them in a private collection in Al Quoz. It also plans to sell limited-edition prints, which cost far less than an original.

These names also got people talking:

• Jude Obozuwa: the Artezaar artist sculpted a life-size face and head live in one of the performance zones.
• Masood Hussain: Artistree Gallery brought the Kashmiri painter and his watercolours of Kashmir's streets, villages and old buildings.
• Carlo Garrido: the Filipino artist and gallerist led the Philippine Pavilion of 11 galleries and more than 45 artists. One work on his stand, made by three artists over 6,000 hours, carried a price of AED 325,000.

What sold at World Art Dubai 2025

Works with a UAE theme found buyers, among both new and returning collectors. The organisers said many buyers came back from earlier years. As at any fair, a red dot next to a work means it has sold. These are the sales the artists made public:

• Mahesh Sharma (India): a 3D portrait of three generations of Dubai's rulers went to a VVIP buyer. He said he spent a year studying what UAE collectors like.
• Katharina Sophia Schultz, KATHAS Cutting Art: sold a piece showing a polo match in the UAE. It was her first exhibition.
• Mari Nishimura (Japan): said she sold a lot of paintings from her solo stand.

None of them shared the price.

World Art Dubai 2025 award winners

The fair gave awards in 16 categories on 20 April 2025. These are the four main titles, announced at the VIP evening, and the new award for Emirati artists:

• Best Artist: Dhuha Al Khudiri.
• Best Emerging Artist: CubixArt, the name of Emirati artist Khalfan Almarashda. He builds large portraits from solved Rubik's Cubes.
• Best Gallery: AN Inc., a gallery from South Korea.
• Best Artwork: Mualaqat. The fair did not publish the artist's name.
• ANAX Art Award for Best Emirati Artist: Hend Rashed, an abstract painter who has shown at the fair for nine years in a row. It was the first year of this award.

Two international artists also won residencies at Rove Hotels and Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis. Radisson RED later named Spanish artist Tom Roy (Antonio Ramirez) as its first international artist in residence.

Names from 2025 to look for in 2026

Several 2025 winners and stand-out names are on the 2026 exhibitor list. These are their 2026 stand numbers:

• Hend Rashed: stand AA01.
• Khalfan Almarashda (CubixArt): stand AA03.
• AN Inc.: stands AA03 to AA06.
• Al Astad Art Gallery: stands CA10 and CA11.
• 3D Artworks Gallery: stand GA08.
• Mahesh Sharma: stand LA09.
• Mari Nishimura: stand AB06.
• Funun Arts: stands NA02 to NA06. This UAE art group has taken part every year since 2016.
• Artezaar: stands FB08 to FB10 and EB01 to EB05.

Stand numbers can change before the fair, so check them on the official exhibitor list, linked in the next section, on the day you go.

World Art Dubai 2026 Exhibitor List

The official exhibitor list is on the World Art Dubai website, and it already shows 290 artists and galleries. You can filter it by country, by first letter, or by artist or gallery. Each name has its stand number, such as "GA08" or "MA10", so you can find it in the halls.

You cannot download the list, so before you go, pick the names you want to see and note their stand numbers, or keep the page open on your phone.

How to Buy Art at World Art Dubai

You buy directly from the artist or the gallery at their stand. The fair has no single rule for payment or delivery, so each seller works in their own way. Sales rose by 28% in 2025, so the popular pieces do sell.

Before you pay for a piece, ask the seller these questions:

• "Is this the final price, and does it include VAT and the frame?"
• "Do you give a certificate of authenticity?"
• "Can I pay by card, or only by bank transfer?"
• "Can I take it home today, or do you deliver after the fair ends on 22 November?"

Keep the receipt and the seller's phone number. If the seller will deliver the work later, get the date in writing.

Art Dubai vs World Art Dubai

Art Dubai and World Art Dubai are two different fairs. The names are close, so people often mix them up.

World Art Dubai is the November fair at the Dubai World Trade Centre, with many solo artists and lower prices. Art Dubai is a gallery fair at Madinat Jumeirah, and its next edition will run from 7 to 11 April 2027. A World Art Dubai ticket does not get you into Art Dubai.

Things to Know Before You Go

• Age: the organisers have not set an age limit. Children aged 11 and under go free.
• Time to plan: two to three hours is enough to walk both halls and join one workshop.
• Exhibiting: artists and galleries who want a stand for a future fair can apply through "Book your stand" on worldartdubai.com. The Participation Guidelines page there explains the rules.
• Contact: the organisers answer questions through the contact page on worldartdubai.com.