On November 1, 2026 Christie’s will hold its first Christie’s auction in Abu Dhabi dedicated to modern and contemporary art, an event that also marks the auction house’s twentieth anniversary in the United Arab Emirates. The sale, hosted at the Abu Dhabi Edition hotel and titled “MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art”, will feature over 70 works by artists such as Paul Guiragossian, Samia Halaby, Mohamed Melehi, Marwan Kassab-Bachi, Inji Efflatoun and Nabil Nahas. It is not just a celebration: the choice of Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai reflects a deeper shift in the balance of the regional art market.
Key points
- Christie’s celebrates its 20 years in the Emirates with the first fine art auction in Abu Dhabi, on November 1, 2026.
- The “MAWASIM” sale offers more than 70 works of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern and North African art.
- Eight lots come from the Dalloul Collection and five from the Barjeel Art Foundation, among the leading collectors in the region.
- The top estimates range from $100,000 to $500,000 for works by Melehi and Guiragossian.
- Sotheby’s opened a branch in Abu Dhabi in 2025 and Frieze Abu Dhabi debuts from November 19 to 22, 2026 with 84 galleries.
Christie’s celebrates 20 years in the Emirates with its first auction in Abu Dhabi
Twenty years after becoming the first international auction house to organize a sale in the Emirates, Christie’s is moving its auction stage from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. The house held its first sale in the region in 2006, in Dubai itself, effectively opening the local market to international auctions. Today, that milestone is being celebrated not by replicating the event in the same city, but by moving it to the capital, a sign of how the geographical balance of the market is being redrawn.
The MAWASIM auction: works, artists and estimates
Among the most anticipated lots is Noces (Wedding) by Paul Guiragossian, a monumental work from 1958–59, estimated between $300,000 and $500,000. The 1978 abstraction Yesterday by Samia Halaby and Kopf (Head) by Marwan Kassab-Bachi, from 1987, are both valued between $200,000 and $300,000. The painting A30 by Mohamed Melehi, created in 1962 during the Moroccan artist’s Roman years, is instead expected to reach between $100,000 and $150,000.
A historic milestone: from Dubai 2006 to Abu Dhabi 2026
For most of these two decades, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have played different roles in the Emirates’ art ecosystem. Dubai has developed a solid network of galleries and fairs, while Abu Dhabi has invested in a huge museum project focused on Saadiyat Island. That distinction now appears less clear-cut: Christie’s, which helped launch Dubai as an auction hub, is now betting on Abu Dhabi for a sale built not around the most celebrated Western names, but around artists from the MENA region.
Major collections and growing collector demand
Eight works in the sale come from the Dalloul Collection in Beirut, five from the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah: both collections, led respectively by Basel Dalloul and Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, appear in ARTnews’s Top 200 Collectors list. This is not a minor detail: last November, Christie’s London sale dedicated specifically to the Dalloul Collection realized £4.1 million, with 93% of the value sold and 85% of the lots placed. More than half of the lots exceeded the high estimate and eight auction records were set over the course of the evening. Thirty-eight percent of buyers were new to Christie’s, with 21% belonging to the millennial generation, a sign of an expanding collector base. Among the most significant results, Poem by Saloua Raouda Choucair reached £393,700, 363% above the high estimate, while Untitled by Sliman Mansour hit £323,850, 80% above estimate.
Abu Dhabi’s art market grows amid museums, Sotheby’s and Frieze
Why it matters: the choice of Abu Dhabi comes at a time when the city is rapidly adding a commercial art market to the cultural infrastructure built over the past two decades. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is now well established and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opens on December 11, 2026, just as Frieze and Sotheby’s are stepping up their presence in the city. In 2024, the sovereign wealth fund ADQ, based in Abu Dhabi, invested $1 billion into Sotheby’s coffers, a figure that clearly illustrates the strategic interest of local capital in the sector.
Sotheby’s and Frieze Abu Dhabi in regional expansion
Sotheby’s inaugurated a new office in Abu Dhabi in 2025, described as part of a “long-term commitment” to the region’s collectors: the program culminates in Collectors’ Week, at the beginning of December 2026, with an auction of jewelry, watches, cars and real estate, as well as an exhibition ranging from Old Masters to contemporary art. Meanwhile, from November 19 to 22, Frieze Abu Dhabi debuts at Manarat Al Saadiyat, with 84 galleries from 64 cities and 37 countries, including names such as Gagosian, Pace, Thaddaeus Ropac and Timothy Taylor. The fair is born in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi and builds on the legacy of 17 years of activity by Abu Dhabi Art. Enthusiasm, however, has been partly dampened by the ongoing conflict in Iran, which has created logistical and security concerns, with shipping costs at historic highs and flight suspensions to some Gulf cities. Despite this, collectors in the region remain active: after a slowdown during moments of peak political tension, activity has quickly resumed.
Sector outlook: Christie’s perspective
“This year marks twenty years since Christie’s first modern and contemporary art auction in Dubai,” said Meagan Kelly Horsman, managing director of Christie’s UAE, highlighting the “growing international recognition of Middle Eastern artists” over these two decades. It remains to be seen whether Christie’s intends to make auctions in Abu Dhabi a regular fixture or whether this sale will remain a one-off event tied to the anniversary: the choice of the city, in any case, is in itself already an eloquent signal of the direction in which the Gulf art market is heading.
FAQ
What is the significance of Christie’s auction in Abu Dhabi in 2026?
It marks Christie’s twentieth anniversary in the United Arab Emirates and its first fine art auction in Abu Dhabi, highlighting the growth of the city’s art market.
What kind of works will be featured in Christie’s MAWASIM auction?
The sale will include more than 70 works of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern and North African art by leading artists from the region.
How has Abu Dhabi’s art scene evolved compared to Dubai’s over the last 20 years?
Dubai has developed a substantial scene of galleries and fairs, while Abu Dhabi has focused on building major cultural institutions; today, however, the capital is also expanding its commercial art market.
What role do regional collectors and institutions play in the upcoming auction?
Important collections such as the Dalloul Collection and the Barjeel Art Foundation are contributing works to the sale, reflecting strong engagement from the region’s collectors.
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As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
