This July, the Gulf region’s art scene comes alive with a compelling lineup of exhibitions, from major institutional showcases to intimate solo presentations. Whether in Dubai, Sharjah, or Doha, the month offers rich opportunities to experience both regional voices and global dialogues in art. So, here is our list of top 10 exhibitions on display in July for you to choose from.
1. Figure, Ground by Fatima Haider
Until 9 August 2025, Grey Noise is hosting Figure, Ground, Pakistani artist Fatima Haider‘s solo exhibition, which presents her abstract works. Haider’s minimalist visual language explores camouflage, nature, and industrial form: forces that interlace in her compositions to evoke a subtle tension between concealment and exposure.
2. Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices
This expansive exhibition at the Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf) in Doha features over 40 filmmakers and artists from the Arab world, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Blending genres such as fiction, documentary, memoir, and animation, the displayed works explore memory, migration, and community through moving images. The show will remain open until 9 August 2025.
3. Sites of Imagination by Wafa al-Hamad
Also at Mathaf, Sites of Imagination celebrates the pioneering career of Qatari artist and educator Wafa al-Hamad. The exhibition, running through 9 August 2025, reflects on four decades of her artistic production and lasting legacy. In addition to al-Hamad’s paintings, the show spotlights her connection to other influential Arab women artists, such as Madiha Omar and Samia Halaby.
4. Ihab Ahmad: I PUT MY BRAIN ON PAUSE!
Meanwhile, Firetti Contemporary is exhibiting Lebanese artist Ihab Ahmad‘s vibrant works until 20 August 2025. The show presents an emotionally charged body of work that embraces spontaneity, vulnerability, and raw self-expression. It marks a new direction in Ahmad’s evolving practice, emphasising instinct over intellect.
5. Between Sunrise and Sunset by Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim
Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah is currently displaying Between Sunrise and Sunset, a sculptural installation by acclaimed Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim. Initially created for the UAE Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale, the piece transforms the gallery into a biomorphic, colour-shifting landscape. Inspired by Khor Fakkan’s light and terrain, the work reflects cycles of memory and transformation. On view through 10 August 2025.
6. Garden of Murmurs by Malik Thomas Jalil Kydd
Until 23 August 2025, CARBON 12 is holding Garden of Murmurs, a solo exhibition by British-Iraqi artist Malik Thomas Jalil Kydd, featuring works that span painting, drawing, and fibre art. The show explores themes of personal identity, heritage, and desire through a tactile, introspective lens.
7. Architectures of the In-Between Group Show
At Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Architectures of the In-Between brings together Nevine Hamza (Egypt), Atefeh Majidi Nezhad (Iran), and Layla Juma (UAE). The exhibition highlights how each artist draws on architectural knowledge to construct visual languages shaped by structure, memory, and metaphysical inquiry. The show will end on 23 August 2025.
8. No Trespassing Collective Exhibition
On 4 July 2025, Ishara Art Foundation will launch No Trespassing, an exhibition that examines the street as a site of artistic inquiry. The show features six UAE-based and South Asian artists who delve into their relationship with the street, engaging with it as subject and medium. The exhibition will be open to the public until 30 August 2025.
9. Surreal Lanka by Onvision
Photographer Sai Han Seng On (known as Onvision) debuts his solo show Surreal Lanka at RAW Coffee Company, Al Quoz, Dubai. The exhibition, open through 31 July 2025, features contemplative images from his travels in Sri Lanka, offering an introspective lens on place, emotion, and everyday surrealism.
10. Eternal Letters: Qur’an Manuscripts from the Abdul Rahman Al Owais Collection
Held at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation and now available to explore online until 4 September 2025, Eternal Letters unveils Qur’anic manuscripts from the private collection of H.E. Abdul Rahman Al Owais. This captivating exhibition offers a glimpse into the sacred artistry, historical significance, and spiritual depth of Islamic manuscript traditions across centuries and geographies.
In addition, you might be interested in exploring Sunrise at the Vortex by Nima Nabavi. We also recommend that you view Fahrelnissa and the Institutes: Towards a Sky, one of the online exhibitions at the Cultural Foundation.
