• Abu Dhabi Art announces Alla Abdunabi, Salmah Almansoori, and Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum as commissioned artists for Beyond Emerging Artists (BEA) 2025 
• The 2025 artists will be mentored by acclaimed artist Issam Kourbaj, with new work to be exhibited at Abu Dhabi Art this November 
• Works by the 2024 BEA artists will be exhibited at the Hong Kong Sotheby's Maison from 15 to 27 July 2025 

Abu Dhabi, UAE – 14th July 2025: Abu Dhabi Art has revealed the artists participating in the 2025 edition of Beyond Emerging Artists the annual programme which commissions new work by up-and-coming UAE-based artists to exhibit at the fair each year.  

This year's edition will be curated by internationally renowned artist Issam Kourbaj, who has selected Alla Abdunabi, Salmah Almansoori and Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum as the three participants invited to develop new commissions to be exhibited at the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, which will take place from 19 to 23 November 2025 at Manarat Al Saadiyat. The new works will also be exhibited internationally after the fair ends. The annual Beyond Emerging Artists programme seeks to provide emerging UAE-based artists with opportunities to develop their work, benefit from the mentorship programme provided by the guest curator each year and reach new audiences through the platform of the fair.  

Portrait of Issam Kourbaj 

The selected artists share practices that span installation, sculpture and conceptual storytelling, exploring themes of identity, memory, materiality and the layered histories of place. Issam Kourbaj commented on their selection: 'It was challenging to select just three participants for the programme, from amongst so many exciting emerging artists put forward. Like many creatives around the world, young artists in the region are directing their gaze toward excavating the present and engaging with urgent matters of our time, whether environmental, social, or historical. I very much look forward to working with the three selected artists—Alla Abdunabi, Salmah Almansoori, and Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum—and guiding their visual voices as they develop a body of work inspired by Al Ain, both as a source and a canvas for new ideas.' 

Portrait of Alla Abdunabi 

Alla Abdunabi is a visual artist working in sculpture and installation. Her practice explores the afterlives of objects through storytelling that merges historical, personal, and fictional narratives. She reflects on shifting histories and the material memory of place. 

'I'm honoured to be part of Beyond Emerging Artists this year,' said Abdunabi. 'With the support of Abu Dhabi Art and curated by Issam Kourbaj, I'll be exploring object histories in my presentation at the fair. In addition, through the Al Ain commission, I look forward to creating a site-specific work that listens to the buried histories of the land.'

Portrait of Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum  

Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the human condition through themes such as value, time, belief systems and the psyche. His practice is influenced by lived experience, folklore, storytelling, surrealism, language and metaphor. Through a narrative-driven, world-building approach, he constructs new associations and meanings that reflect cultural memory and personal exploration. 

'I am honoured to have been selected as part of the Beyond Emerging Artists programme,' he said. 'I especially look forward to the mentorship of Issam Kourbaj and continuing the world-building approach of my work within the context of an art fair, as well as investigating the archaeological histories of our country in sites such as the ones found in Al Ain.' 

Salmah Almansoori, Who I became 1, 2024 

Salmah Almansoori is a multidisciplinary artist, whose practice spans painting, sculpture, and installation. Rooted in personal memory and the overlooked details of her hometown, her work documents what is being erased—abandoned places, forgotten objects, and fading traditions. By collecting fragments from these sites and transforming them into abstract yet intimate narratives, she explores themes of displacement, identity, and emotional inheritance. 

'I'm grateful to be part of Beyond Emerging Artists this year. This opportunity allows me to deepen my exploration of memory and place, and to share stories from my hometown that are often overlooked. With the guidance of Issam Kourbaj, I look forward to developing a new body of work that reflects on transformation, loss, and belonging.' said Almansoori. 

Beyond Emerging Artists is sponsored by Abu Dhabi Art's global partner HSBC and supported by Friends of Abu Dhabi Art, a group of philanthropists committed to supporting the art ecosystem in the UAE and chaired by Asma Seddiq Al-Mutawa.