Alserkal’s five‑week Art Month

Alserkal Avenue is turning its annual Art Week into a five-week Art Month, stretching Dubai’s spring art season from April 18 to May 18. (artnews.com) The expanded programme will run across five weekends with 16 gallery exhibitions, public art commissions, and more than 100 talks, performances, and events. Alserkal is also adding grants, temporary warehouse space for collectives, and a group show organized with 12 galleries from across the United Arab Emirates. (artnews.com) The opening week includes Green Art Gallery’s “All the Lands from Sunrise to Sunset,” Efie Gallery’s new public-facing viewing room with works by El Anatsui and Aïda Muluneh, Sara Naim’s solo show at The Third Line, and Douglas White’s “The Great Wave” at Leila Heller Gallery. (artnews.com) The longer run now fills the gap before Art Dubai, which moved its 20th edition from April 17–19 to May 14–17 and said the fair will proceed in an “adapted format.” Art Dubai’s official site now lists a “special edition” from May 15–17, 2026, with further details still to come. (artsy.net) (artdubai.ae) That calendar shift followed escalating conflict across the Gulf. Artsy reported that cultural institutions in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi temporarily closed in early March, and some Alserkal galleries also shut their doors for a time. (artsy.net) Alserkal’s expansion also underscores how much the district has grown inside Dubai’s art economy. ARTnews said the Avenue now houses around 90 creative businesses in repurposed industrial spaces in Al Quoz. (artnews.com) The broader April programme will also include Dubai International Financial Centre Art Nights, which returns for its 21st edition from April 23 to April 26 at Gate Village. The event is scheduled daily from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and is open to visual art, digital art, sculpture, photography, workshops, and music. (difc.com) Dubai International Financial Centre said it will provide the venue and electricity, while participating artists and galleries handle the rest of their setup. The call for entries says space on the district’s art walls is limited to 14 artists, with sculpture submissions especially encouraged. (difc.com) By mid-May, Alserkal’s month-long run will meet Art Dubai’s rescheduled fair dates, giving the city a continuous art calendar from April 18 into the fair’s closing weekend. (artnews.com) (artdubai.ae)