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ArtDubai

by Sylvain Gaillard

How Art Galleries Are Shaping Dubai’s Art Scene

18 Apr 2025

Walk into a gallery in Dubai today and you are likely to find more than just white walls and artworks. You will hear conversations in five languages, see collectors comparing notes over espresso, curators scouting for the next big thing, and artists fresh from their studios explaining why they painted a tree upside down. Dubai’s art scene is no longer emerging, it is moving. And at the center of that movement are the galleries.
Long before museums, biennials, or art foundations entered the picture, galleries were laying the groundwork for what is now one of the most dynamic creative ecosystems in the Middle East. While institutions like Art Dubai or Jameel Arts Centre have expanded visibility, galleries often small, agile, and deeply connected to the artist community have played a defining role in building the city’s creative pulse.
Established more than fourteen years in Dubai, Opera Gallery is one of the key players pushing that conversation forward. But before diving into how we contribute, it is worth unpacking why galleries matter, and why, more than ever, our role extends far beyond selling art.
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Photo: Jimmy De Paris

Not just showrooms, but cultural engines

A gallery is of course a commercial space: a place to hang work, meet buyers, and sell pieces.
But they are far more than that. They scout artists and art trends. They curate. They educate new collectors. They mentor artists. They introduce ideas that may not yet have space in the mainstream. In short, they help build an art scene from the inside out.
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Adrián Navarro — Paraíso

It is probably even more true in Dubai. “Galleries here aren’t just selling art,” one local collector told me. “They’re shaping the taste of the city.”
And that shaping happens through constant dialogue, between artist and curator, gallery and audience, region and world. It is a delicate dance of nurturing local voices while also introducing international perspectives. The best galleries know how to do both without losing their footing.

Dubai’s global moment

The timing couldn’t be better. Dubai is in the midst of a cultural acceleration, not one driven solely by glitzy events or mega-investments, but by a genuine appetite for creative exchange, storytelling, and artistic experimentation.
The city is younger, more diverse, and more curious than ever. In this context, galleries serve as matchmakers, bringing artists and audiences together, often for the first time. They are responsible for introducing local audiences to global names, but also (and just as importantly) for giving visibility to homegrown and regional talent.
It is not just about what hangs on the wall. It is about the conversations galleries spark and the communities they help build.

The Opera Gallery formula

Opera Gallery, located in the heart of DIFC, is a prime example of how a gallery can do all this while holding its own on the international stage.
On any given day, you might walk in to find a show pairing modern masters like Alexander Calder and Philippe Hiquily. One month it is a solo by a Swiss painter, the next it is a group show spotlighting contemporary abstraction. The programming is both ambitious and intentional.
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Calder — Red Octopus, 1971

What Opera Gallery does particularly well is build bridges, between past and present, across geographies, and between audiences. Dubai’s diversity is unmatched, people come from everywhere. We aim to reflect that in the gallery, while offering something cohesive, thoughtful, and resonant.
That balance of international, established, and emerging is part of Opera Gallery DNA and this this what we aim at bringing to Dubai’s art scene.

Supporting artists, not just exhibiting them

Perhaps the most overlooked role galleries play is that of advocate. Behind every exhibition is a long-term relationship, built on trust, collaboration, and support.
Galleries often work with artists for years, helping them refine their practice, place their works in private collections and institutions, and grow their careers.
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Gustavo Nazareno, Bará 17, Bará 37, Bará 415, 2019-2024. Photo: Anna Carolina Bueno

We are no exception. In addition to showcasing prominent names, Opera Gallery regularly introduces lesser-known artists to Dubai audiences, offering them a platform that can lead to global recognition.
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Botero — Larger Than Life. Photo: Jimmy de Paris

Being exhibited in a space that also shows Botero, Manolo Valdés, but also Picasso or Calder, elevates their profile, but more importantly, it places them in a larger conversation that spans continents and art histories.
This kind of curatorial positioning matters. It tells artists: you belong here. And it tells collectors: pay attention.
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Manolo Valdés — Domesticity. Photo: Jimmy de Paris

Growing a culture of collecting

For a long time, art collecting in Dubai was seen as the domain of the elite, something niche, distant, even intimidating. But that perception is changing, and galleries have had a major hand in making collecting more accessible.
Through exhibitions, guided tours, workshops, and private events, galleries are demystifying the process. They are helping first-time buyers understand value, trust their instincts, and invest in works that speak to them.
I often say: “You’re not just buying a canvas. You’re buying into an idea, a narrative, a voice.” Galleries help you connect those dots.
We serve as a resource not only for seasoned collectors, but for people acquiring their first piece. And in a city where wealth is plentiful and where cultural literacy is still growing, that education is key.

Looking ahead: A scene still taking shape

As Dubai continues to define its place on the global art map, the role of galleries will only become more critical. We are among the first responders to cultural shifts, the translators between artist and audience, the incubators of experimentation and risk.
That kind of influence doesn’t happen overnight. It is built, slowly, thoughtfully, through years of curating, connecting, and investing. Not just in sales, but in people.
In a city where change is constant and ambition runs high, galleries offer something quieter, but no less vital: reflection, dialogue, and discovery.
They help us see not just what is on the wall, but what is possible.
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