Frieze Abu Dhabi has published the highlights of its first edition, which will bring 89 exhibitors from 37 countries and regions to Manarat Al Saadiyat from 19 to 22 November 2026. The fair places artists from West Asia, North Africa and South Asia at its centre, alongside international names and historical material tracing centuries of exchange across the Indian Ocean.

More than 60 galleries will take part in the main Galleries section. Thaddaeus Ropac will show Imran Qureshi alongside new falcon paintings by Yan Pei-Ming, while galerie frank elbaz stages a solo presentation of historical and recent works by Sheila Hicks. Athr will spotlight pioneering Saudi artist Mounirah Mosly, including early works unseen for years, and Vigo Gallery will present eight works from Ibrahim El-Salahi's Tree series. Leila Heller Gallery will devote its stand to a solo retrospective of Iranian artist Farideh Lashai, spanning more than five decades of painting, works on paper, installation and moving image.

Pace will present a career-spanning solo booth for Emily Kam Kngwarray, including previously unseen paintings, while Victoria Miro brings together Idris Khan, NS Harsha and Yayoi Kusama, including an Infinity Mirror sculpture ahead of the opening of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in December. Sfeir-Semler Gallery will connect three generations of artists from the Arab world, from Etel Adnan, MARWAN and Samia Halaby to Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Khalil Rabah, Alia Farid and Dana Awartani.

The Focus section will concentrate on younger galleries and experimental solo presentations, each supported by a bursary, while Dala Nasser, winner of the inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi Artist Award, will present works from Innocents at Home. Frieze Masters Abu Dhabi, curated by Marika Sardar, will explore the Indian Ocean as a historic corridor of trade, migration and cultural exchange, including a first-century painted Egyptian portrait shown in the Middle East for the first time since leaving Egypt in 1888. Global Futures, curated by Tarini Malik, will bring together eight solo presentations.