This year’s edition of Art Dubai 2025 was nothing short of brilliant. Beyond the expected glamour and scale, it felt like something deeper was happening — a shift in tone, in centre of gravity.
The fair was a true gathering of the Global South. From Lagos to Beirut, Mumbai to Mexico City, the energy was local and international at once. What stood out was how galleries from London, Milan, and Paris were right there in the mix, not above it. They were part of a much broader, richer conversation that’s now being led by the region.
There was a palpable sense that Dubai is no longer a satellite of Western art capitals — it’s its own axis. This 2025 edition confirmed that Art Dubai has matured into a serious cultural moment, not because it mimics Frieze or Basel, but because it doesn’t.
The Art Dubai Digital Pavilion was one of the most compelling parts of the fair. Curated under the theme “After the Technological Sublime,” it brought together AI, immersive tech, and digital media in a way that felt both experimental and grounded. The space was buzzing. People weren’t just passing through — they were staying, talking, interacting.
The highlight? Without doubt, the AIM – Dream Machine by HX Collective. A sleek megaphone-like installation invited visitors to whisper a dream into it, and the AI would immediately visualise it on a screen. “Take me to Paris,” and Paris appeared — dreamlike, fluid, slightly uncanny. The queue wrapped around the space. It was poetic and disorienting in the best way, turning personal longing into digital vision. A surprisingly emotional piece of tech-art that stuck with you long after.
Art Dubai 2025 trends and interesting booths
The Italian Consulate’s booth was another hot spot, packed throughout the day. Their selection showcased a bold curatorial voice, leaning into both tradition and innovation.
Jacopo Di Cera’s Infinity series was a clear highlight. Using drones to photograph Italy’s natural wonders from above, Di Cera created large-scale prints that felt timeless and futuristic all at once. You saw a familiar country from a godlike, unearthly vantage point. Alongside that, his Retreat installation — a portrait of the melting Brenva glacier — injected a sombre, almost elegiac note. It was a stark reminder that beauty and fragility often go hand in hand.
Andrea Crespi brought a totally different energy. His work was sharp, conceptual, and media-savvy. The most striking piece? A speculative Forbes magazine cover featuring AI-generated figures instead of humans. A critique and a provocation, it questioned how we define influence and recognition in a world where algorithms shape visibility. It was witty but serious — the kind of art that sticks in your mind like a question you can’t quite answer.
Over at the Sevil Dolmacı Gallery booth, Italian legend Fabrizio Plessi held centre stage. Plessi’s signature blend of elemental themes and digital aesthetics was in full force. His installations — merging fire, metal, and video — brought a kind of mythic modernity to the space. It felt like watching classical sculpture come alive through LED screens. The whole booth felt intentional, cinematic even. It was less about individual pieces and more about stepping into a curated world.
What set this year apart was the balance between tech and tactility. This wasn’t a fair obsessed with gadgets. The digital works weren’t about spectacle, they were about storytelling. And the traditional works weren’t conservative, they were conversational — in dialogue with our moment.
Art Dubai: a turning point
Art Dubai 2025 wasn’t just a success. It felt like a turning point. A moment where the narrative truly shifted. The Global South isn’t a “new frontier” anymore — it’s the present. And the artists, curators, and galleries coming out of this ecosystem aren’t trying to catch up to anyone. They’re leading, experimenting, re-defining what an art fair can be.
For anyone still thinking of Dubai as just a market or a luxury hub, this edition was the wake-up call. It’s where serious ideas are being tested, where futures are being imagined — sometimes whispered, sometimes shouted, and occasionally visualised by a dream-machine that makes them real.
