14 Regional Artists To Know Ahead Of Art Dubai

Working at the intersection of craft and contemporary art, Emirati artist Sara Al Haddad is known for her soft, sculptural installations made from various textiles, such as yarn and woven fibres. Her practice is introspective and translates emotional states, from vulnerability to resilience, all into tactile, spatial forms that often hang, drape or stretch across their surroundings. Dubai-based gallery Aisha Alabbar Gallery will present her work as part of its programme, offering a closer look at an artist whose pieces feel both intimate and subtly powerful.

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Honduran artist Adrian Pepe, based in Lebanon, works at the intersection of textiles, installation and architecture, with an artistic practice rooted in natural fibres and ecological thinking. For this presentation, SOLO gallery will unveil a new site-specific installation created in collaboration with Dubai-based designer Omar Al Gurg of Modu Method. Marking a new direction, the work introduces hand-dyed indigo textiles created with pigments sourced from Honduras and El Salvador, forming a more sculptural, immersive environment that blurs the boundaries between material, space and ritual.

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Bold and colourful, Lebanese artist Lana Khayat brings a poetic yet quietly powerful approach to abstraction, weaving together nature, language and cultural memory through layered compositions that feel both delicate and intentional. Based between the UAE and Spain, she draws on botanical forms and ancient scripts, creating a visual language that sits between stillness and movement. Presented by Hafez Gallery, Khayat works across oil, silk thread and mixed media, with her pieces often depicting recurring motifs such as the lily, while subtly referencing calligraphy and inherited craft traditions.

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Iranian artist Amir Khojasteh works across painting and mixed media, exploring themes of identity, memory and fantasy through layered, introspective compositions. His pieces draw on fragments of lived experience and psychological states like fear, translating them into abstracted forms that feel expressive and almost animated. Presented by Carbon 12, Khojasteh’s colourful work reflects a thoughtful approach to image-making, where gesture, texture and space become tools for examining how meaning is constructed and recalled.

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Presented by The Third Line, Syrian-British artist Sara Naim works across photography, installation and digital processes to explore perception, structure and the invisible systems that shape the natural world. Her practice sits at the intersection of science and abstraction, using microscopic imagery and layered visual forms to create works that feel both precise and atmospheric. Standout works from her Tender Grain series reference flora reliefs on Assyrian monuments, paying homage to plant life that transcends borders despite shifting geopolitical landscapes.

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A powerful voice in the regional art scene, Palestinian artist Mohammed Al-Hawajri is known for his vivid, symbolically charged paintings that reflect life in Gaza through a lens of memory, resilience and everyday surrealism. Working with bold colours and layered figurative compositions, his practice transforms scenes of daily life into dreamlike narratives that sit between sarcasm and reality. Presented by Abu Dhabi-based Iyad Qanazea Gallery, Al-Hawajri’s work offers a humanised perspective on place, experience and survival.

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One of the most exciting emerging voices in the UAE’s contemporary art scene, Emirati multidisciplinary artist Wafa Alfalahi creates atmospheric works that sit at the intersection of memory, materiality and subconscious expression. Working across painting, drawing and sculpture, Alfalahi uses papier-mâché, charcoal, pigment, pastel and clay to create tactile, dreamlike pieces that explore the fragility of time and emotional resonance. For this year’s Art Dubai fair, Wafa will be showcasing a new solo exhibition developed specifically for the occasion, offering an insight into her evolving practice.

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Rawalpindi-based artist Shamir Iqtidar creates atmospheric figurative works that explore memory, longing and cultural fragmentation. Blurring the lines between reality and imagination, his layered compositions depict unresolved figures suspended in dreamlike spaces, reflecting on emotional distance and the fading of collective memory. 

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Emirati artist Roudhah Al Mazrouei explores memory, identity and place through works that draw on everyday gestures and fragments of lived experience. Working across painting and mixed media, the Abu Dhabi-based artist often captures subtle emotional states through landscape compositions, where simplicity becomes a form of intensity. Presented by Taymour Grahne Projects, Al Mazrouei’s work reflects a thoughtful engagement with contemporary life in the UAE, offering a poetic and bold view within the regional art landscape.

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Born in the occupied Golan Heights, artist Randa Maddah creates dreamlike works that weave together mythology, spirituality and the natural world. Drawing on local folklore, political tension, and childhood memories, her paintings and sculptures depict hybrid figures that move between human, animal and vegetal forms. Rich in colour and symbolism, her intimate yet emotionally charged compositions blur reality and fantasy, exploring the deep connection between identity, landscape and inner life.

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Turkish artist Melis Buyruk is known for her delicate porcelain sculptures that transform intricate, organic forms into elaborate, almost surreal floral compositions. Working primarily with ceramics, her practice draws on themes of nature, femininity and transformation, with each piece hand-built to create layered sculptural installations that feel both fragile and whimsical yet indestructible. Presented by Leila Heller Gallery, Buyruk’s work sits at the intersection of craft and contemporary sculpture. 

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British-Iraqi artist Malik Thomas Jalil Kydd works across painting and drawing to explore identity, memory and cultural duality through layered, materially driven compositions, with his paintings often done on hand-dyed silk. Rooted in personal encounters, life drawing and references to devotional imagery, his figures often move between time and space, creating this otherworldly, cosmic energy. Presented by Carbon 12, the Amman-based artist’s practice reflects a unique approach to form and narrative, positioning his work within a broader conversation around place, spirituality and belonging in contemporary regional art.

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Lahore-based artist Aaila Zahra Butt works within the tradition of miniature painting, creating intricate gouache works that explore ideas of home, memory and human connection. Using architectural forms, foliage and shifting light as recurring motifs, her densely layered compositions reflect emotional landscapes shaped by lived experience and recollection. 

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Syrian artist Abdalla Al Omari creates emotionally charged figurative works that explore displacement, identity and the psychological weight of conflict. Now based in Belgium, he paints from both his enduring connection to Syria and the realities of exile, blending classical portraiture with expressive, layered compositions. Rich in symbolism and vivid colour, his work moves between realism and abstraction, capturing themes of loss, resilience and personal transformation with striking emotional intensity.

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