A version of this article originally appeared in The Back Room, our lively recap funneling only the week’s must-know art industry intel into a nimble read you’ll actually enjoy. Artnet News Pro members get exclusive access—subscribe now to receive the newsletter in your inbox every Friday.
“Can you believe we were just there?” I overheard someone say at Sotheby’s Modern and contemporary evening sale in London on Wednesday night. The topic of discussion was Doha, which is now—along with the rest of the Gulf—caught up in the deepening U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Just a few weeks ago it was hosting the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar.
The conflict has raised alarms in the art industry. Some international galleries and collectors are supposed to be heading to Art Dubai in mid-April, and the region has received substantial investment from so many art firms over the past few years.
Doubts About Dubai
The United Arab Emirates, Dubai especially, has long cultivated an image as a stable haven in a volatile region, attracting global wealth, tourism, and business while largely avoiding the effects of nearby violence, including the Israel-Gaza war. But Iran’s retaliation to U.S.-Israeli attacks on February 28 has disrupted that sense of security.
A yacht sails past a plume of smoke rising from the port of Jebel Ali following a reported Iranian strike in Dubai on March 1, 2026. Photo: Fadel Senna/ AFP via Getty Images.
Missile strikes and other action targeting U.S. allies hit key infrastructure in the emirate, including a hotel on Palm Jumeirah island, an Amazon Web Services data center, the U.S. consulate, the airport, and Jebel Ali port, shaking confidence in its reputation as a safe regional hub. The UAE is now considering military action to stop Iranian missile and drone attacks on its territory—what would be an unprecedented move for the nation.
For now, Art Dubai—which marks its 20th anniversary this year—is set to run from April 15 to 19 at Madinat Jumeirah, a stone’s throw from Palm Jumeirah. “While recent developments are not what anyone hoped for, we fully expect this period of uncertainty to pass soon,” a spokesperson said, adding that “we are monitoring the situation closely with our stakeholders.”
Logistics Concerns
Exhibiting galleries are taking a wait-and-see approach. One European dealer said it was hard to imagine that the event could take place, considering how travel has been impacted by the fighting, and some collectors will have second thoughts about going there. Amrita Jhaveri, the director of Mumbai’s Jhaveri Contemporary, said she hopes to decide in the coming week and that the shipping deadline for the fair is April 1.
View of the 2025 edition of Art Dubai. Photo: Cedric Ribeiro/ Getty Images for Art Dubai.
Nazy Vassegh, a U.K.-based advisor who works with clients in the region, said that the UAE is “resilient” but that shipping and insurance may now prove a hurdle for international outfits. DHL warned of delays on Thursday because the airspace in the region remains restricted and the Straight of Hormuz, a busy cargo route that passes through the Arabian Gulf between the UAE and Iran, is closed. The multinational logistics company also said that rates are rising due to fuel costs, rerouting, and reduced carrier availability.
Broader Instability
What happens next in the UAE may prove a sort of litmus test for art businesses who are building their presence in that part of the world, like Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Frieze. A spokesperson for the fair company said that “the thoughts of all of us at Frieze are with those showing courage and unity in the region,” and that preparations continue for the first edition of Frieze Abu Dhabi this November, the result of a multi-year partnership with that emirate’s department of culture and tourism.
Louvre Abu Dhabi. Photo: Tom Dulat/ Getty Images.
While stock markets around the world have been roiled by the war this week, economic pressure caused by the conflict didn’t seem to affect major auctions in London in recent days. But that doesn’t mean it won’t eventually have an impact on the trade. “The art market moves in a different gear than the news,” U.K.-based advisor Liberte Nuti told me after the Sotheby’s sale. “But a gear shift will come.”
The Bottom Line
Concerns over escalating military action in the Gulf colored the first edition of Art Basel Qatar, and the outbreak of war may keep many art types based outside the region from venturing into it for a while. (A lot will depend on how quickly this conflict is resolved.) As I noted in a discussion last week with Artnet’s Kate Brown and Ben Davis on The Art Angle podcast, military clashes in the Gulf could catalyze the re-regionalization trend that we’ve already been seeing in the art trade as political destabilization sweeps the globe.
Vivienne Chow contributed reporting.
