The inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi will take place 19–22 November 2026 at Manarat Al Saadiyat in the Saadiyat Cultural District, marking a new chapter for Frieze and a milestone in Abu Dhabi's trajectory as a global cultural capital. Developed with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and led by director Dyala Nusseibeh, the fair builds on seventeen years of community-building by Abu Dhabi Art and will span antiquity through the 20th century to the present day. The main Galleries section gathers more than 60 galleries from 56 cities and 32 countries. The WANASA lineup is anchored by UAE galleries including Carbon 12, Lawrie Shabibi, The Third Line and Tabari Artspace, alongside Lebanese, Saudi, Iranian, Turkish, Tunisian, Egyptian, Moroccan and a large Indian contingent. A strong London presence — Victoria Miro, Timothy Taylor, Thaddaeus Ropac, Richard Saltoun, Perrotin and others — sits alongside Gagosian, Pace, Leila Heller Gallery and Vito Schnabel Gallery from New York and galleries from Singapore, Busan, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Curated sections include Frieze Masters Abu Dhabi, selected by Marika Sardar around the theme of the Indian Ocean, and Global Futures, curated by Tarini Malik with solo presentations by artists including Ala Younis, Abdullah Al Saadi and Tania Candiani. The Focus section for younger galleries offers bursaries to each participant, and Deutsche Bank will present a curated lounge installation by UAE artist Omar Al Gurg.