Middle East
Christie's will become first global auction house to operate in Saudi Arabia
With the announcement of Riyadh-based managing director Nour Kelani, the firm hopes to deepen ties with the Kingdom's collectors and ambitious cultural projects
'Like a miniature city': Swiss architects reveal design for Qatar's new Lusail Museum
New institution is next phase in state’s mega museum masterplan
London’s Middle Eastern art sales have defied tensions
Auction purchases by Arab cultural entities overcome early uncertainties of Israel-Hamas war
As Saudi Arabia wins bid for 2030 World Expo, a new book lifts the lid on the Kingdom’s push to be a key art world player
Publication examines how the conservative Middle Eastern state is pouring resources into its culture sector
Paper, politics and poetry: why artists’ books from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia deserve a closer look
British Museum show and book by Venetia Porter tap into rich seam of works by non-Western artists
Art Basel increases security for Paris + fair following state of alert in France
Anti-ram barriers will be placed around the venue following a terrorist incident in France, linked to Israel-Hamas war
Abu Dhabi seeks to make waves with first major art biennial
The first "direct commission" unveiled by Public Art Abu Dhabi is a multimedia crashing wave display by the Seoul-based collective d’strict
Derelict ice factory in the desert transformed into UAE's newest contemporary art venue
Opening in time for the Sharjah Biennial, the Kalba Ice Factory building boasts 20,000 sq. m exhibition space
Heritage protection foundation Aliph expands with office in Saudi Arabia
The Geneva-based International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas is to open a second office in 2023 in Riyadh
Can art actually help improve Saudi Arabia's abject human rights record?
Culture is being used by Saudi Arabia to project an image of a state that “enriches lives, celebrates national identity and builds understanding between people”
Perrotin is about to open its first Middle East space in a Dubai tax-free zone
The gallery will focus on secondary market deals with occasional contemporary art programming
New digital art archive launched to help Yazidi community rebuild after genocide
Available on the Google Arts & Culture platform, the project is the result of a year-long series of workshops in northern Iraq
Experts fear for preservation of 'spectacular' mosaic unearthed by farmers in Gaza refugee camp
The Byzantine-era gem has been described as "the most beautiful mosaic floor" found in Palestine
Revamped Museum of Islamic Art in Doha to reopen with more than 1,000 new objects
After 18-month closure, Qatar gallery to relaunch on 5 October in time for Fifa World Cup
Exclusive: German museums latest to be implicated in far-reaching criminal investigation into antiquities trafficking
Case has so far seen Middle Eastern works seized from New York's Met and the indictment of a former Louvre director
Iraqi artists decry Berlin Biennale’s display of photographs showing tortured inmates at Abu Ghraib prison
Artists Raed Mutar and Sajjad Abbas protested against the inclusion of Jean-Jacques Lebel's work and have moved their own pieces
One year after Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, artists stage remembrance festival of kite flying
International event—featuring storytelling, music, poetry and dance—aims to bring awareness to the continuing plight of Afghans
Qatar ramps up cultural programme ahead of Fifa World Cup with museum previews and extensive exhibition programme
French curators take the reins at the country's new museums
Babylon is coming back to life, with its famed Ishtar Gate to be restored by this summer
A new World Monuments Fund project in conjunction with the US embassy in Baghdad aims to repair Iraqi cultural heritage as part of the Future of Babylon project
Christie’s Middle East chairman Michael Jeha is stepping down after 23 years at the end of this month
Jeha began his career at the auction house as an intern in the Impressionism department
Art Dubai flexes city’s futuristic credentials with focus on NFTs and crypto
Art fair opens in the UAE this week with a new digital arts section and a series of talks on all things metaverse
Saudi Arabia-led campaign puts Arabic calligraphy on Unesco heritage list
Proposal was put forward by 16 Arabic-speaking countries
Saudi Arabia's Desert X AlUla biennial returns for second edition next spring
In a new location in the desert complex, the exhibition will explore ideas of “mirage and oasis”
'Jobless, futureless, in constant fear': Afghan artists sign open letter to world leaders asking for help to escape the Taliban
Non-profit Artists at Risk issue letter to Boris Johnson, Joe Biden and other senior figures urging for better systems for those seeking asylum
Abu Dhabi plans two new museums in addition to Guggenheim and Zayed
Announcement was made at yesterday's preview of Abu Dhabi Art 2021, where cultural leaders were keen to emphasise their commitment to the emirate following its strict lockdown
Unesco strikes partnership deal with Saudi agency to develop AlUla region's rich heritage
Agreement covers developing archaeological programmes and paves the way for kingdom's ambitious long-term plans to attract tourists to the region
An Afghan cultural worker’s life under the Taliban: 'There is nothing left for us here and we can’t go anywhere else'
In a new series "Dispatches from Afghanistan", we speak to artists about their experiences since the rise of the Taliban. Here, Mansoor laments the world’s silence over Afghanistan's fate
An Afghan artist's life under the Taliban: burning art, deleting social media accounts and living in hiding
In a new series "Dispatches from Afghanistan", we speak to artists about their experiences since the rise of the Taliban. Here, contemporary artist and curator Mina recounts the horrors of her failed escape attempt
Guggenheim director Richard Armstrong sets new opening date for long-delayed Abu Dhabi museum
New deputy director Naomi Beckwith says "we can re-centre where the stories of art are told"