Weekly News Roundup: January 3, 2025
By The editors
Installation view of Baro Galeria’s booth at Art Dubai 2023. Courtesy Baro Galeria, Sao Paulo/Palma.
Art Dubai Reveals Program for 2025 Edition
Art Dubai is set to return for this year’s edition from April 18–20 at the Madinat Jumeirah resort and will feature more than 100 exhibitors from over 40 countries, including over 20 new participants. The fair will present four distinct sections: Contemporary, Bawwaba (“gateway” in Arabic), Modern, and Digital. Bawwaba, curated by Mirjam Varadinis of Kunsthaus Zürich, will showcase ten solo presentations addressing displacement and coexistence, including works by Kate Newby, Gulnur Mukazhanova, and Tomás Saraceno. Co-curated by Magalí Arriola and Nada Shabout, the Modern section will feature the region’s leading figures of the 20th century, highlighting connections between postcolonial modernist movements in Latin America, West Asia, and North Africa. Digital, curated by Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, is entering its fourth year and will explore themes of artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual and augmented reality. According to Art Dubai’s artistic director Pablo del Val, “Dubai is the center of the Middle East region’s art market and the city continues to develop at an incredible pace . . . In an increasingly challenging world, these artists and galleries play such an important role in telling the stories of the migrations and exchanges that are shaping the future world around us.”
Aerial view of the National Museum Complex of Korea in Sejong. Courtesy Office Ou, Toronto.
Four New Museums Set to Open in Central Korean City
On December 26, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) unveiled plans for the construction of four new museums in the administrative hub of Sejong City. Set to be completed by 2028, the construction is part of the continued expansion of the National Museum Complex of Korea under MCST’s 2024–2028 Basic Plan for Promoting Museums and Art Galleries. The new initiative aims to improve the country’s museum and art gallery infrastructure—foregrounding the country’s rich cultural legacy, revitalizing regional tourism, and improving issues of storage space in state-run institutions, many of which are currently operating at or surpassing full capacity. Song Yun-seok, director of the regional cultural policy bureau at the MCST, emphasized accessibility and inclusivity as key aspects of the roadmap: “By making museums and art galleries more inclusive, sustainable and community-focused, we are ensuring that all citizens can engage with culture in meaningful ways, regardless of location or background.” The new institutions will include the National Urban Architecture Museum by 2026, the National Design Museum and Digital Cultural Heritage Center by 2027, and the National Archives Museum by 2028.
View of the Islamic Arts Biennale at the Western Hajj Terminal, King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, 2023. Courtesy the Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
Islamic Arts Biennale Announces Artists for 2025 Edition
The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has revealed the artist lineup for the second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale (IAB), which is scheduled to take place from January 25 to May 25 at the iconic Western Hajj Terminal at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. Titled “And All That Is In Between,” this year’s iteration will explore collective ways of seeing, thinking, and reading that transcend binary systems, as well as address religious and cultural transformations in modern-day Saudi Arabia. More than 30 Saudi and international artists will participate in the event, including Riyadh-based artist Fatma Abdulhadi, Bahraini American artist Nasser Alzayani, Saudi abstract painter and physician Ahmed Mater, Nagasaki-born visual artist Takashi Kuribayashi, and Taiwanese multidisciplinary artist Charwei Tsai, among others. Thematizing the natural world and gardens in Islamic culture, the newly commissioned artworks will be presented alongside traditional artifacts across seven sections throughout five indoor gallery spaces as well as beneath the airport’s lofty canopy.
View of the Dib Bangkok Museum facade. Courtesy Dib Bangkok.
Contemporary Art Museum to Open in Bangkok
The Dib Bangkok Museum of Contemporary Art is set to open in the Thai capital in late 2025. The new museum is an endeavor of the late art collector and major beverage company CEO, Petch Osathanugrah. Dib will contribute to amending the underrepresentation of Thai contemporary art on an international scale by displaying works from Osathanugrah’s collection as well as temporary shows, featuring both lesser-known and renowned contemporary Thai artists alongside global modern artists. Talking to CoBo Social in 2018, Osathanugrah said: “I consider Thai contemporary art to be an integral part of international art, and I include work that has either international recognition or the potential for it.” With 12,900 square meters of exhibition space, the new museum will be one of the largest art spaces in Thailand, and is set to be one of the most influential. “Dib,” which translates as “raw” in Thai, refers to the architectural elements of the museum’s building, a repurposed steel warehouse where original features, such as the Thai and Chinese window frames and ceilings, will be retained. The museum is currently under the stewardship of Osathanugrah’s son, Purat (Chang), alongside the museum’s inaugural director, Miwako Tezuka.
