ART CALENDAR MENA · ARTLEVEL PUBLIC PROGRAMME
october 2026
The month's exhibitions, festivals and open calls across 24 countries of the region — from the Louvre Abu Dhabi to the galleries of Beirut, Istanbul and Marrakesh. Selected by ArtLevel, free for everyone who loves art.
NEXT MONTH · 17–20 NOVEMBER · ABU DHABI
Frieze Abu Dhabi 2026. The ArtLevel private programme
Four days for a small circle of guests: private collections and residences, Saadiyat museums, meetings with collectors.
Curated by Elen Levitt · Partner, Frieze Abu Dhabi. ArtLevel — official partner of DCT Abu Dhabi.
highlights of OCTOBER
Spices and Wonders: Sailing the Indian Ocean
- Location: Louvre Abu Dhabi
- 14 October 2026 –
14 February 2027
Paul Guiragossian: 100 Years of Art
- Location: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation
- From 17 October 2026 - 17 January 2027
What Lingers in the Artist Mind
- Location: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
- Opens 25 October 2026
highlights of OCTOBER
2.10.2026: Amman Design Week
- Amman
10.10.2026: Abu Dhabi Festival 2026
- Abu Dhabi
14.10.2026: Spices and Wonders: Sailing the Indian Ocean
- Louvre Abu Dhabi
17.10.2026: Paul Guiragossian: 100 Years of Art
- Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, Abu Dhabi
25.10.2026: What Lingers in the Artist Mind
- Mathaf, Doha
30.10.2026: Baku Art Weekend
- Baku
october 2026
ART calendar of MENA Region:
UAE: Abu Dhabi · Dubai · Sharjah · Permanent collections
For artists: Open calls & residencies
UAE. Abu dhabi
LEGO® SHOWS Natural Brickstory
- Location: Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi
- 29 August – 8 November
highlights from bassam freiha collection
- Location: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation
- 11 June 2026 – 17 January 2027
Roots Before Petals
- Location: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation
- 17 October 2026 –
17 January 2027
Alfred Basbous: Sculpting the Line
- Location: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation
- From 17 October 2026
Eman Al Hashemi: The Horizon We Inherit
- Location: Iris Projects
- 26 September - 26 November 2026
UAE. DUBAI
What We Carry Becomes the Terrain
- Location: Aisha Alabbar Gallery
- 23 September -
7 November 2026
The Journey | الرحلة: Majd Kurdieh | Solo Exhibition
- Location: Fann A Porter
- 17 October -
30 November 2026
Artist residency exhibition: Lynn Issa, Yang Lan and Yara Chaalan
- Location: Fann A Porter
- 12 September -
14 October 2026
Artists’ Rooms: Kamruzzaman Shahdin
- Location: Jameel Arts Centre
- 15 March 2026 -
1 November 2026
Salah Elmur: Just as the Heart of a Mango is a Stone
- Location: Jameel Arts Centre
- 31 October 2026 -
14 March 2027
AZZA AL QUBAISI, BETWEEN LAND AND SEA
- Location: Leila Heller Gallery
- From 23 September 2026
MANISH NAI, IN SEACH OF MATERIAL, WITHIN MATERIAL
- Location: Leila Heller Gallery
- From 23 September 2026
KARIMA AL SHOMELY, BETWEEN A FOLD AND A MEMORY
- Location: Leila Heller Gallery
- From 23 September 2026
The sky held it, the earth remembered
- Location: Ishara Art Foundation
- 11 September 2026 -
15 December 2026
uae. SHARJAH
Sharjah Film Platform 9 Early Bird Festival Pass
- Location: Al Mureijah Square, Gallery 6
- 30 October –
8 November 2026
Vantage Point 13
- Location: Gallery 2, Photography Gallery, Al Manakh
- 8 August – 29 November 2026
Permanent Exhibitions in the UAE
Archaeological Finds and Historical Artefacts, narrating the Emirate's rich past
Location: National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah
Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
Jeddah
Permanent exhibition of artist Safeya Binzagr's works
- Location: Darat Safeya Binzagr Gallery
Dhahran
Oman
Muscat
QATAR
DOHA
Permanent exhibition.
One of the world’s greatest collections of Islamic art
- Location: Museum of Islamic Art (MIA)
Atharna 2025: Unearthing Qatar’s Ancient Textile Factories
- Location: National Museum of Qatar
Bahrain
Manama
Permanent exhibition dedicated to painting, Arabic calligraphy, sculpture, and engraving
- Location: Busaad Art Gallery
Khuyut al-Hawiya: Threads of Identity
- Location: Albareh Art Gallery
- 20 October, 2026 -
4 November, 2026
Muharraq
Kuwait
Kuwait City
El Marsam: Modern and Contemporary Art from Egypt
- Location: MEI Art Gallery
- 18 September – 11 December 2026
Yemen
Sana’a
Permanent Exhibition of artifacts from the Islamic States era
- Location: National Museum of Yemen
Lebanon
Beirut
Jean Boghossian
A constant Flame
- Location: Saleh Barakat Gallery
- 6 October - 13 November 2026
Jordan
Amman
Towards This Distant Land, I Orient… by Eman Haram
- Location: Dar Al-Anda
- 15 September 2026 - 17 October 2026
Syria
Damascus
Lake Effect: Artists from Cleveland Now
- Location: Mustafa Ali Gallery
- July 9, 2026 - December 6, 2026
Palestine
Birzeit
Ramallah
ISRAEL
Tel AVIV
Joshua Neustein: You cannot step into the same river twice
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- Until 3 October 2026
Tom Wesselmann: All Out / From Marie and Jose Mugrabi Collection
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- 11 June - 26 December 2026
Vision of the New Bones: Jewish Imaginations after 1940
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- 28 May - 28 November 2026
Beyond Small / Miniature Worlds in Contemporary Art
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- 10 February - 3 October 2026
Ohad Meromi
Selected Works From the Gallery's Collection
- Location: Gordon gallery
- From 9 October 2026
Turkey
Istanbul
Frank Bowling: Creation and Destruction
- Location: Pera Museum
- 29 September 2026 -
31 January 2027
The Photography Studio of An Adventurous Architect. Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu 1893–1982
- Location: Istanbul Research Institute
- until 31 January 2027
Across the Seas
Özer Kabaş and His Times
- Location: Salt Beyoğlu
- 16 September 2026 –
14 March 2027
15 Years at Salt:
Exhibition Posters
- Location: Salt Beyoğlu
- 16 September 2026 –
27 January 2027
Iran
tehran
EGYPT
Cairo
Permanent Grand Exhibition of Egyptian Heritage
- Location: National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)
- Permanent Exhibition
Giza
Luxor
Morocco
Marrakesh
Le temps d'un battement de cil
- Location: Musée d’Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden
- 18 September
- 29 November 2026
Casablanca
TUNISIA
Tunis
Solo exhibition: Fatma Charfi, Human Being - being human
- Location: Galerie A. Gorgi
- 12 September – 25 October 2026
Sudan
Khartoum
Mauritania
Nouakchott
Malta
Valletta
Permanent exhibition of the national collection
- Location: MUŻA — The National Community Art Museum
Beyond the Visible: The Metaphysical Worlds of Olaug Vethal
- Location: Spazju Kreattiv
- 4 September - 25 October 2026
Cyprus
Nicosia
Limassol
open calls
Residency open call for Lebanese artists based in Lebanon
- Location: Gasworks
- Deadline: 26 October 2026, 1pm (UK time)
Open Call - Mouhit International Artist Residency 2026
- Location: Tunis
- Deadline: 16 October 2026
BOUTIQUE ART ADVISORY & CULTURAL PROJECTS · UAE
For collectors — Frieze Abu Dhabi private programme
For artists —
UAE Art Market guide (in Russian)
For everyone —
Levitt Art Community and Telegram ARTLEVEL
EMAIL: artlevel3003@gmail.com
WHATSAPP: +971 50 873 6591
INSTAGRAM: @artlevel.ae
COMPANY WEBSITE: artlevel.space
STUDIO: Abu Dhabi, UAE