With global attention fixed on the Gulf’s ascendent art market, Dubai has unveiled plans for its first art museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art.
The Dubai Museum of Art (DUMA) will be designed by Pritzker Prize–winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando and constructed along Dubai Creek, an inlet of the Persian Gulf. The project is being developed by the Al-Futtaim Group conglomerate, with the support of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the current ruler of Dubai who also serves as vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. No opening date has been confirmed.
“Culture and art are the soul of a city and a lens through which its progress is seen,” Sheikh Al Maktoum said in a statement. “They reflect its vision and the depth of its humanitarian mission. The Dubai Museum of Art will be a new beacon for the city, enhancing its arts scene and further strengthening its global cultural status.”
According to Ando, DUMA’s design is inspired by two symbols of Dubai’s heritage: the sea and the pearl. Renderings reveal a five-story museum enclosed by a curved shell and linked to the waterfront by a tree-lined promenade. Light will cascade through a central roof opening into a central exhibition hall, recalling the shimmer of a pearl. Simple geometry, smooth concrete, and a harmonic use of light are trademarks of Ando’s contemplative—and highly-sought after—design aesthetic.
Omar Al Futtaim, vice chairman and CEO of Al-Futtaim, said the group chose Ando as his architecture “speaks the language of light, silence, and soul.”
According to the announcement, DUMA will exhibit “a diverse selection of modern and contemporary art, curated to reflect Dubai’s spirit,” across its first and second floors. The third floor will feature a VIP lounge and restaurant. The plans for the museum also include a library, study rooms, and flexible programming spaces capable of hosting art fairs. In April, the latest edition of Art Dubai included a preview of the Dubai Collection, billed as the emirate’s first institutional collection of modern and contemporary art. For now, the collection exists mainly as a digital platform where Dubai’s leading collectors showcase their holdings, alongside exhibitions offering curated glimpses into the over 1,000 artworks listed on the platform.
DUMA will join Dubai’s growing portfolio of infrastructure projects intended to elevate the city-state’s global art profile. This includes Askeral Avenue, a 500,000-square-foot space housing fine art galleries, community spaces, and other creative organizations and businesses. Concrete, an exhibition space designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA, opened on Askeral in 2017. In 2022, the more experiential Museum of the Future opened in Dubai’s business district.
As Dubai cultivates its own art landscape, the Gulf’s shared art ecosystem is also poised for a market shakeup. In 2026, Frieze will officially take over Abu Dhabi Art, rebranding as Frieze Abu Dhabi—the same year Qatar welcomes Art Basel, marking the first branches of both multinational fairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
However, art development across the Gulf has been accompanied by scrutiny of regional leaders’ human rights records both nationally and internationally. This week the UAE faced condemnation from human rights groups over its alleged involvement in the massacres taking place in El Fasher, Sudan, by the UAE-supported Rapid Support Forces. The UAE government has yet to release a statement on the reports.
