MAy 2026
ART calendar of MENA Region:
Presenting a detailed guide to current art exhibitions in the MENA region for May 2026. Don't miss the temporary and permanent exhibitions in leading galleries and cultural centres across the MENA region.
highlights of MAY
UAE. Abu dhabi
ALL MANNER OF EXPERIMENTS:
LEGACIES OF THE BAGHDAD MODERN ART GROUP
LEGACIES OF THE BAGHDAD MODERN ART GROUP
- Location: NYUAD Art Gallery
- 12 February – 7 June 2026
Constructing the Orient: Fragments of a Western Dream
- Location: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation
- 24 October 2025 - 31 May 2026
Reflections: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Villain Collection
- Location: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation
- 13 February - 31 May
Light & peace
- Location: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre
- 1 September 2024 -
1 September 2026
Shezad Dawood: Skin of Dreams
- Location: Cultural Foundation
- 30 April 2026 - 20 September 2026
UAE. DUBAI
Sara Naim: From the Perspective of Language
- Location: Third Line Gallery
- 13 March - 31 May 2026
Collectors' Entry Point: Select Works Under $3,000
- Location: Fann A Porter
- 4 April - 20 May 2026
Jumana Emil Abboud: The Storyteller and the Obedient Tide
- Location: Jameel Arts Centre
- 28 January - 28 June 2026
Artists’ Rooms: Kamruzzaman Shahdin
- Location: Jameel Arts Centre
- 15 March 2026 -
1 November 2026
Mr. Brainwash Explained: The Hidden Language of Graffiti
- Location: Oblong Gallery
- 23 March - 23 May 2026
Atieh Sohrabi, Farshid Shafiey, Baran Shafiey: All in the Family
- Location: Leila Heller Gallery
- 14 March – 6 May 2026
The importance of staying quiet: Fahd Burki
- Location: Grey Noise, Warehouse 24
- 18 April 2026– 9 May 2026
Exodus Through the Maze: Disorientation As Fate: Mouteea Murad
- Location: Ayyam Gallery
- 4 March - 9 May 2026
The Eye: An Aperture Into the Soul: Safwan Dahoul
- Location: Ayyam Gallery
- 16 May - 4 July 2026
20-day Exhibition: One Artist / One Note per Day
- Location: Isabelle Gallery
- Until 28 May 2026
In the Wake of Time
- Location: RARARES Gallery. DIFC Sculpture Park
- 25 November 2025 –
31 May 2026
Fellow Travellers Curated by Dr Omar Kholeif
- Location: Tabari Artspace
- 13 April - 5 June 2026
uae. SHARJAH
Jorge Tacla: Time the destroyer is time the preserver
- Location: Al Mureijah Square, Gallery 1, 2, and 3
- 8 February – 7 June 2026
Permanent Exhibitions in the UAE
Archaeological Finds and Historical Artefacts, narrating the Emirate's rich past
Location: National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah
Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
Jeddah
Permanent exhibition of artist Safeya Binzagr's works
- Location: Darat Safeya Binzagr Gallery
The Legends of Motherland by Sarah Alabdali
- Location: Hafez Gallery
- 21 April 21 - 24 May 2026
AiUia
Dhahran
Turkey
Istanbul
Renzo Piano: Genius Loci Permanent Exhibition
- Location: Istanbul Modern
- 1 January – 31 December 2026
Extraordinary Minas
The Story of Inspiration and Innovation in Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics
- Location: Pera Museum
- From May 27, 2025
MATHIAS HORNUNG
Washed Up to the Surface
Washed Up to the Surface
- Location: Anna Laudel Gallery
- April 10 – May 31, 2026
The Photography Studio of An Adventurous Architect. Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu 1893–1982
- Location: Istanbul Research Institute
- Until 17 May 2026
Bahrain
Manama
Permanent exhibition dedicated to painting, Arabic calligraphy, sculpture, and engraving
- Location: Busaad Art Gallery
Muharraq
QATAR
DOHA
Permanent exhibition.
One of the world’s greatest collections of Islamic art
- Location: Museum of Islamic Art (MIA)
Resolutions: Celebrating 15 years of Mathaf
- Location: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
- Until 8 August 2026
Resolutions: Evolving Realities
- Location: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
- 1 May – 8 August 2026
Atharna 2025: Unearthing Qatar’s Ancient Textile Factories
- Location: National Museum of Qatar
Empire of Light: Visions and Voices of Afghanistan
- Location: Museum of Islamic Art
- Until 30 May 2026
Chung Seoyoung: Endless Facts
- Location: Fire Station, Garage Gallery
- 5 February - 31 May 2026
Haroon Mirza: Everything Was, Is and Always Will Be
- Location: Fire Station, Garage Gallery
- 5 February - 31 May 2026
Libya
Tripoli
EGYPT
Cairo
Permanent Grand Exhibition of Egyptian Heritage
- Location: National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)
- Permanent Exhibition
Giza
Luxor
ISRAEL
Tel AVIV
The Day Is Gone: 100 Years of the New Objectivity
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- Until 23 May 2026
Archetype: The Architecture of Ram Karmi
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- Until 27 June 2026
Joshua Neustein: You cannot step into the same river twice
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- Until 20 June 2026
Observation / The Field Observers of the Gaza Sector: A Video Installation by Talya Lavie
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- Until 23 May 2026
Dudu Geva Was Here: New in the Collection
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- 10 February - 8 July 2026
Beyond Small / Miniature Worlds in Contemporary Art
- Location: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
- 10 February - 4 July 2026
Holon
TUNISIA
Tunis
Sudan
Khartoum
Morocco
Casablanca
Marrakesh
David Seidner – Yves Saint Laurent
- Location: Yves Saint Laurent Museum
- September 25, 2025 - August 2, 2026
Les battements d’ailes des crocodiles
- Location: Montresso Foundation
- 10 April - 18 July 2026
Kuwait
Kuwait City
The Whisperings: At Kristine Hjellegjerde
- Location: Hunna Art Gallery
- 23 April - 16 May 2026
Yemen
Sana’a
Permanent Exhibition of artificat from the Islamic States era
- Location: National Museum of Yemen
Syria
Damascus
Malta
Valletta
Permanent exhibition of the national collection
- Location: MUŻA — The National Community Art Museum
Celebrating 25 Years of Spazju Kreattiv: Nurturing Legacy Through Art
- Location: Spazju Kreattiv
- 18 September 2025 – 10 May 2026
Art Will Wake the Dead – Celebrating 25 Years of Spazju Kreattiv: Nurturing Legacy Through Art
- Location: Spazju Kreattiv
- 18 March - 10 May 2026
Palestine
Birzeit
Cyprus
Nicosia
Limassol
Mauritania
Nouakchott
Lebanon
Beirut
MAy 2026
ART calendar of MENA Region:
Presenting a detailed guide to current art exhibitions in the MENA region for May 2026. Don't miss the temporary and permanent exhibitions in leading galleries and cultural centres across the MENA region.