Sotheby's Partners With UAE Galleries to Host Local Exhibitions

Leading auction house Sotheby’s has launched ‘The Gallery Collective’, a two-year exhibition series in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in collaboration with prominent UAE galleries. From November 2024 through 2026, this rotating series will feature exhibitions by top galleries - including Tabari Artspace, Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery, Leila Heller Gallery, The Third Line, and Lawrie Shabibi - every six to eight weeks.

“Our aim was to support the blossoming cultural ecosystem of the UAE, working side by side with the institutions and galleries who also make up the rich tapestry of the art scene here,” Katia Nounou Boueiz, Deputy Chairman at Sotheby’s Middle East, tells SceneNowUAE. “This series of boutique exhibitions will turn the spotlight onto emerging and established artists through the lens of our partner galleries, presenting them to collectors on the ground and through our international platform.”

The first exhibition, ‘Jewels’, runs from November 12th, 2024 to January 6th, 2025, presented by Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery, and features works by New York-based artist Khalif Tahir Thompson and American artist Summer Wheat. In January 2025, ‘Hot Spots’, a collaboration between Tabari Artspace and The Third Line, will explore Middle Eastern and North African identity through the language of advertising.

In March, ‘Form and Rhythm’, hosted by Lawrie Shabibi, will blend contemporary and Islamic art, showcasing ceramics, inlay and geometric abstraction by artists like Hamra Abbas and Timo Nasseri.