Art Basel Qatar has appointed Iraqi curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi as artistic director of the fair’s second edition, titled “between / بين,” which is scheduled to open in 2027 in Doha.

Born in Kuwait to Iraqi parents and now based in New York, Al-Khudhairi has nearly two decades of curatorial experience under her belt. A specialist in modern and contemporary Arab art, she has overseen numerous exhibitions, commissions, and curatorial programs across the globe, including the ninth Gwangju Biennale (2012), the sixth Asian Art Biennial in Taichung (2017–18), and the fourth Hawai‘i Triennial (2025). Her connection to Qatar and the wider MENASA region was deepened through her role as founding director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, where she served from 2007 to 2012. Following her six-year tenure as chief curator and then curatorial advisor (2017–23) at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in the US, she relocated to New York to become a partner of C/O: Curatorial Office.

The second iteration of Art Basel Qatar will maintain the open format of its 2026 edition, which was curated by Egyptian artist Wael Shawky. Under the theme “between / بين,” the forthcoming fair’s program will explore the generative potential of inhabiting a state of betweenness, foregrounding fluid cultural encounters. Moreover, the 2027 edition will expand its “Special Projects” sector, unveiling large-scale, site-specific projects across various mediums, while participating galleries will mount solo presentations responding to the overarching thematic framework. 

Commenting on her appointment, Al-Khudhairi said in a press release: “Qatar has played a meaningful role in shaping both my career and my curatorial practice, and I look forward to bringing that deep connection to this important project.” She added that her curatorial vision “emerged from a curiosity about what becomes possible when a space is allowed to stay open—not as an absence of definition, but as an invitation for connections across generations, geographies, and perspectives.”

The second edition of Art Basel Qatar will take place from January 28–30, 2027, at the Doha Design District and M7 Cultural Forum in Msheireb Downtown Doha.

Yuqian Fan is an editorial assistant at ArtAsiaPacific.