As September is drawing to a close, Dubai’s art spaces show no signs of slowing down. With several new exhibitions starting at the end of this month and running through October, the city’s art season is shifting gears. Galleries and independent spaces across the emirate are launching a fresh wave of exhibitions, and we’re keeping an eye on a few.
Here are some exciting exhibitions to add to your October calendar.
Line as Witness by Yusuf, 1×1 Art Gallery
Opening on September 23rd and running all the way through 24th October, 2026, Line as Witness by Yusuf at 1×1 Art Gallery explores the line as a tool for deep reflection, a measure of passing time, and a record of attention. Across his paintings, drawings, and sculptures, Yusuf examines rhythm, structural form, and the delicate space between presence and absence.
The Living Archive by Ahmed Talla, Firetti Contemporary
This solo exhibition by Ahmed Talla is curated by Celine Azem, opening on September 21st and running through October and closing on November 11, 2026. Built on the idea that “we are, in the end, what we lived through”, the exhibition explores what remains in material, surfaces and spaces we’ve lived through. Starting with artist books handmade from recycled materials and raw canvas, the exhibition expands into sculptures and paintings; the work is an exploration of how we are all living archives of our own experiences.
What We Carry Becomes the Terrain by Bénédicte Gimonnet, Aisha Alabbar Gallery
French artist Bénédicte Gimonnet presents his solo exhibition, a deeply personal exploration of memory, inheritance, and belonging. Inspired by a recent return to her Peruvian roots, Gimonnet combines paintings, drawings, and textile art using fabrics collected from Peru, France, and the UAE, interweaving these with traditional Emirati embroidery, Talli. Marking the reopening of the newly renovated space, the exhibition opens on September 23rd and runs until 7th November, 2026.
Sojourner: The Difference is the Same by Maggie Otieno, Efie Gallery
Presenting her debut solo exhibition at the Efie Gallery is one of Kenya’s leading contemporary artists Maggie Otieno. Famous for her transformation of distressed and reclaimed materials, Otieno breathed new life into 150-year-old railway sleeper woods through mixed-media sculptures. Otieno removes these materials from their previous lives signified by movement and infrastructure, turning them into new sculptural forms defined by their quiet stillness. By exploring themes of memory, healing, and inherited histories, she invites viewers to reflect on what is carried forward and what is reshaped over time. The exhibition opens on September 23rd running till November 13, 2026.
Fellow Travellers by Dr Omar Kholeif, Tabari Artspace
Opening on October 8, 2026 at Tabari Artspace, Fellow Travellers marks the launch of a decade-long research project by Dr Omar Kholeif. Featuring rare and never-before-seen works by artists including Luísa Correia Pereira, Jai Chuhan, Lalitha Lajmi, Irene Scheinmann, and Kholeif himself, the exhibition bridges lyric prose, poetry, and paint.
Allusive Veil by Hisham Sharif, Ayyam Gallery
Running from September 23 to October 30, 2026, Allusive Veils marks Sharis’s first solo exhibition with Ayyam as well as his first in the UAE. The work draws from his own experiences; Sharif lifts the veil on societal conventions to reveal more intimate and quieter realities of daily lives.
