The curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi has been appointed as artistic director of the second edition of Art Basel Qatar, taking place in Doha in January 2027. The upcoming fair’s curatorial theme is between / بين,, exploring the generative potential of the state of in-betweenness.
‘For the 2027 edition, between / بين emerged from a curiosity about what becomes possible when a space is allowed to stay open – not as an absence of definition, but as an invitation for connections across generations, geographies, and perspectives’, said Al-Khudhairi in a statement.
Currently a partner at the New York-based arts consulting firm Curatorial/Office, Al-Khudhairi has held several curatorial roles across institutions and international exhibitions. She was previously founding director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, from 2007 to 2012; curator of modern and contemporary art at the Birmingham Museum of Art from 2014 to 2017, and chief curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis from 2017 to 2023. She has also served on the curatorial team for the Hawai’i Triennial, 2025; as cocurator of the Asian Art Biennial, Taichung, 2017; and co-artistic director of the Gwangju Biennale, 2012.
