In a candid conversation, Chief Artistic Officer & Global Director of Art Basel Fairs, Vincenzo de Bellis, and Artistic Director of Art Basel Qatar, Wael Shawky, unpack the ideas shaping the show’s inaugural edition. Their dialogue centers on ‘Becoming’, a theme inspired by the Gulf’s rapid transformation and the broader human drive toward change. They outline how the fair departs from conventional models with an open layout, solo presentations, and a deliberate emphasis on regional voices. They discuss how the Special Projects activate key sites and public spaces across Msheireb Downtown Doha, and Qatar’s long-term cultural ambitions.

Vincenzo de Bellis: Your theme for Art Basel Qatar, ‘Becoming’, is an all-encompassing topic that has been addressed through artworks in very different ways.

Wael Shawky: It came from how I see the Gulf today as a metaphor for a society with ambitious imagination for the future, how humanity in general wants to transform and develop to a higher system. It could be from a nomadic to an agricultural to an urban system, for example. It could be religious. It’s nowhere clearer to us than in the Gulf, where we see the rapid changes that happened in the last 30 years.

VdB: Art Basel Qatar won’t look like a traditional fair. In place of booths arranged in grids, the floorplan is much more open. Where a gallery might ordinarily bring individual works by a selection of artists to a fair, here, the galleries here are presenting a single artist. It means that people who might not be familiar with some of the artists can really get to know their work.

WS: Many presentations are also in conversation with works located nearby. One floor, for example, looks at how craft is playing a significant role in transforming conceptual work.

VdB: While a gallery’s stature has influence, the fair’s layout doesn’t necessarily depend on that. Many new galleries are coming to this fair, because the selection is based on artists’ projects.

WS: The idea was to try to involve galleries from the region as much as possible, even if they are not big names. Even the most established MENASA artists that we know of often don't have gallery representation because [this side of the] art market is not mature enough here yet. Look at Egypt. There was maybe one gallery that presented work at previous editions of Art Basel. We tried to curate [balanced selection] as much as possible.

VdB: The fair also includes artists from the region who are widely visible globally – Etel Adnan, Hassan Sharif or Simone Fattal for example. To some extent they’re a bridge for others less known on the global stage, and they underline the connection between the global and local that this fair is all about.

WS: It was interesting to see that many of the big galleries applied with artists that they feel [are making work that] can belong in the region. [Marlene Dumas’s new work addresses the conflict in Israel and Palestine for example.] Many respected the concept and theme of this art fair and the idea that they are also showing here in Qatar.

VdB: The Special Projects, whether they are newly conceived or iterated, have a very direct response to the to the place where they've been installed.

WS: Yes. Sumayya Vally’s project, for example, is located at Barahat, the biggest square, which is in front of M7, one site for the fair. Her work is an architectural space that deals with memory, time and performance, which we’re inviting people to be part of. It’s in one of the busiest places for the local community here in Qatar and surrounded by restaurants. We thought it would be really interesting to have this space that hosts many people occupied partly as an art piece.

VdB: The Special Projects are all in iconic locations, in fact.

WS: Khalil Rabah’s project is at Doha Design District, where the galleries are also staged. He’s interested in creating new formats for museums and this will look like an open museum of collected objects. Some are things he’s found in flea markets, and some really belong to families, migrants, including those from Palestine. Each object has its own memory, history and timeline. When he combines these objects inside an art fair, it also becomes a sort of analysis of the art market.

VdB: We chose Qatar as the site for the new fair, because the vision of Her Excellency, Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani is very aligned with our vision of building something that will generate cultural development, that will impact future generations far more than what can be imported from outside.

WS: I felt that it's important to be part of this fair because of everything happening here in Qatar. In setting up an intellectual discourse platform like Fire Station, emerging young artists are being invited from all over the world to be part of the cultural discussion. There’s also the long-term plan and philosophy that Qatar has, making Doha into a cultural hub for the region. There are new institutions, like the Art Mill or the Lusail Museum, and, of course, all the existing museums. Yet you still need to have a professional market in the whole region.

VdB: You’re an artist, but you’re also an educator and a community leader. You care about how this kind of project can be good for a community.

WS: For an artist to direct an art fair of this size is a first and it was important to make a statement with this debut edition. I wanted to try to reduce a gap between artists and fairs. Usually when my work is presented in fairs, I'm not involved in how it’s installed. The art piece becomes isolated from its original context. Here each gallery has a solo presentation for one artist. It means that there’s a narrative and artistic vision, less mine than the artist themselves on the booth.

Anchored in a dynamic long-term partnership with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+, the joint initiative will take place from February 5 – 7, 2026. Visit Qatar is Lead Partner of Art Basel Qatar. Learn more here.

Skye Sherwin is an art writer based in Rochester, UK. She contributes regularly to The Guardian and numerous art publications.

Caption for header image: Wael Shawky, Artistic Director of Art Basel Qatar, and Vincenzo de Bellis, Chief Artistic Officer & Global Director of Art Basel Fairs. Photograph by Jinane Ennasri for Art Basel.

Published on December 15, 2025.