Art Basel Qatar (ABQ), the Qatari state's finely orchestrated selling event in partnership with the Swiss fair giant, today announced the exhibitor list for its second edition, which will take place across the M7 and Doha Design District venues from 28 to 30 January 2027 (VIP preview days 26-27 January).
Eighty-two galleries plan to take part, a slight decrease from the 87 that showed in the inaugural edition. Among them are Sylvia Kouvali (London, Piraeus) bringing the kinetic art pioneer Liliane Lijn, and Gagosian, which will offer works by the art-world prankster Maurizio Catellan. Like the inaugural edition, almost half of participating galleries operate spaces in the Menasa (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) region, including Marfa’ Projects from Beirut, whose stand will feature the Lebanese artist Stéphanie Saadé, and India’s Nature Morte, presenting the architecturally minded sculptor Ayesha Singh.
Each presentation will respond to the theme of “between”, which was chosen by the fair’s artistic director, the Iraqi curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi, who was the founding director of Doha’s Mahtaf Museum from 2007-12. She takes the reins from Wael Shawky, who curated the inaugural edition.
Who's returning—and who isn't
Exhibitor turnover is high from last year’s edition, with 35 galleries—or around 40%—not returning, including global dealerships like Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Almine Rech and Victoria Miro, as well as prominent regional spaces such as Gallery Isabelle from Dubai. Filling their places are 30 newcomers: Isla Flotante (Buenos Aires, São Paulo), Pilar Corrias (London) and Silverlens (Manila, New York) are among those taking part for the first time.
A full list of galleries exhibiting at Art Basel Qatar 2027—plus those not returning—can be found at the end of this article.
Vincenzo De Bellis, Art Basel’s global director of fairs, tells The Art Newspaper the high turnover is typical of ABQ’s format. “Across our global fairs, we see greater turnover in the sectors that are theme-led, and in Qatar that approach extends to the fair as a whole. Selection is closely tied to how galleries’ proposed solo presentations respond to each edition’s theme, so it is natural for the exhibitor list to change from year to year.”
Gallerists in the selection committee are: Lorenzo Fischi, Galleria Continua; Gordon VeneKlasen, VeneKlasen Gallery; Daniela Gareh, White Cube; Shireen Gandhy, Chemould Prescott Road; Sunny Rahbar, The Third Line; and Mohammed Hafiz, Athr.
Contingency plans
Like its competitors, Art Basel does not discuss motivations behind individual exhibitor applications, including whether some prospective applicants may have pulled out due to geopolitical tensions in the Arabian Gulf. Nonetheless, visitors planning their trip to Qatar next year will certainly be conscious of renewed bombardment in neighbouring Saudi Arabia earlier this month, and looming threats of the US and Israel resuming war with Iran. In late February, a few weeks after the conclusion of the first Art Basel Qatar, Iran launched missiles into Qatar, injuring 16 people, according to Qatari authorities at the time, and causing major disruptions to its airspace.
As a contingency plan, should the fair be postponed or considerably altered due to such circumstances, exhibitors will receive a refund of their participation fee or have the option to defer their participation to the following edition, currently planned for January 2028. Nonetheless, any last-minute drop outs will be subject to a standard penalty fee, similar to other Art Basel fairs.
While this uncertainty might deter some galleries, others will likely be incentivised by the unusually generous level of support provided to exhibitors via Art Basel's partnership with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+, the commercial branch of Qatar Museums. This funds customs clearance, in-country transportation, consolidated storage and installation services, hotel accommodation for up to two staff members, and travel and hotel costs for exhibiting artists. In addition, from the 2027 edition Art Basel Qatar will also cover 50% of outbound shipping costs for unsold works, up to a maximum of $20,000 per gallery, further mitigating costs and risks for galleries.
Art Basel is also deepening its roots in Qatar by launching a year-round programme there to develop the country’s art market, including masterclasses and workshops designed to foster new collectors. "Our ambition extends well beyond the fair week: through our new year-round programme, we aim to deepen collector engagement between editions and contribute to the sustained growth of the regional art market," Art Basel's chief executive Noah Horowitz says in a statement.
Visitors to the second edition of ABQ will also get a chance to see the inaugural Rubaiya, a quadrennial exhibition in Doha, that will bring together more than 120 artists, including Saodat Ismailova and Rirkrit Tiravanija.
Art Basel Qatar 2027 exhibitors (newcomers marked *)
*193 Gallery—Hassan Hajjaj
Acquavella Galleries—Andy Warhol
al markhiya gallery—Youssef Ahmad
* Alhosh Gallery—Hassan bin Mohammed Al Thani
Ames Yavuz—Alfredo Aquilizan, Isabel Aquilizan
*Öktem Aykut-Ihsan Oturmak
Sabrina Amrani—Chant Avedissian
Athr Gallery—Mohammad Alfaraj
Saleh Barakat Gallery -Nabil Nahas
*Bortolami—Christine Safa
*The Breeder—Maria Hassabi
Chemould Prescott Road -Dana Awartani
*Contemporary Art Platform -Monira Al Qadiri
Cardi Gallery—Enrico Castellani
*Carlos/Ishikawa—El Hadji Libasse Ka
Sadie Coles HQ—Isabella Ducrot
Galleria Continua—Chen Zhen
Paula Cooper Gallery—Frank Stella
*Pilar Corrias—Cui Jie
*Dastan Gallery -Sirak Melkonian
*Efie Gallery -María Magdalena Campos-Pons
Selma Feriani Gallery—Nicène Kossentini
Konrad Fischer Galerie—Wolfgang Laib
Gagosian—Maurizio Cattelan
*Gomide&Co—Alfredo Spampinato
Green Art Gallery—Seher Shah
Grosvenor Gallery—Adeela Suleman
Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art—Filipa César
Gypsum Gallery—Huda Lutfi
Hafez Gallery—Faisal Samra
*Hanart TZ Gallery—Bingyi
*Mariane Ibrahim—Salah Elmur
*Isla Flotante—Alfredo Spampinato
*Jhaveri Contemporary—Kamruzzaman Shadhin
Kalfayan Galleries—Antonis Donef
Sean Kelly—Shahzia Sikander
Sylvia Kouvali—Liliane Lijn
Galerie Krinzinger—Waqas Khan
*Laveronica arte contemporanea—Rabih Mroué
Lawrie Shabibi—Yazan Khalili
Leila Heller Gallery-Marcos Grigorian
*Le LAB Gallery-Moataz Nasr
Lehmann Maupin—Mandy El-Sayegh
Lisson Gallery—Anish Kapoor
Luxembourg + Co.—Mira Schendel
*Gió Marconi—Sonia Delaunay
Marfa' Projects -Stéphanie Saadé
Matthew Marks Gallery—Ken Price
*Mazzoleni—Salvo
Fergus McCaffrey—Toshio Yoshida
Mendes Wood DM—Paulo Nazareth
Mennour—Ugo Rondinone
Nature Morte—Ayesha Singh
Neugerriemschneider—Rirkrit Tiravanija
*Galleria Franco Noero—Simon Starling
*Norr Cohan—Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian
*Gallery Wendi Norris—Ambreen Butt
Galleria Lorcan O'Neill Roma—Kiki Smith
Perrotin—Takashi Murakami
*Iyad Qanazea Gallery—Jumana Abboud
Niru Ratnam—Keith Piper
Thaddaeus Ropac—Sean Scully
Rossi & Rossi—Naiza H. Khan
Lia Rumma—Giovanni Anselmo
*Richard Saltoun Gallery—Simryn Gill
Galerie Thomas Schulte—Marina Adams
Sfeir-Semler Gallery—Aref El Rayess
*Silverlens—Pacita Abad
Sprüth Magers—Rosemarie Trockel
*Standard (Oslo)—Shikh Sabbir Alam
*Stevenson—Mame-Diarra Niang
*Taymour Grahne Projects—Dalal Al-Obaidi
* Timothy Taylor—Marina Adams
Tornabuoni Art—Lucio Fontana
VeneKlasen—Tristan Unrau
Axel Vervoordt Gallery—Jaffa Lam
*Vigo Gallery—Ibrahim El-Salahi
White Cube—Park Seo-Bo
David Zwirner—Oscar Murillo
Galleries not returning in 2027
Mira Madrid / Mira Archiv, Almine Rech, Anthony Meier, Barakat Contemporary, BB&M, Carbon 12, carlier gebauer, Esther Schipper, François Ghebaly, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Galerie Eigen + Art, Galerie Lelong, Galerie Tanit, Gallery Isabelle, Gallery Misr, Gladstone Gallery, Gray, Hauser & Wirth, Karma, Karma International, kurimanzutto, Loft Art Gallery, Lodovico Corsini, Magician Space, Massimodecarlo, Mignoni, October Gallery, Pace Gallery, Pilot Galeri, Raster, Sargent’s Daughters, Van de Weghe, Victoria Miro, Waddington Custot, David Kordansky Gallery
