Despite a global art-market contraction, the Middle East emerged as a rare growth zone in 2025. Art Basel Qatar will debut in February 2026, with Wael Shawky as its artistic director. As the country prepares to join the Giardini at the Venice Biennale, Lina Ghotmeh was tapped to design its permanent pavilion. In April, Alexie Glass-Kantor assumed the newly created role of curatorial executive director of Art Dubai Group, joined by Dunja Gottweis as Art Dubai 2026’s director. The third Diriyah Biennale announced Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed as artistic directors, while the third Sharjah Architecture Triennial appointed Vyjayanthi Rao as curator and her longtime collaborator Tau Tavengwa as associate curator. 

In Central Asia, Sara Raza will lead the Centre for Contemporary Art in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, opening to the public in March 2026. Over in the US, San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum named Soyoung Lee as its next director and CEO, succeeding Jay Xu. In June, New York’s Noguchi Museum selected Hitomi Iwasaki as its new head curator and director of curatorial affairs.