Art Basel Awards Medals to MENA Artists

The art fair has just announced its first art world medals

Art Basel have just announced their very own Art Basel Awards, with medals going to 36 professionals within the art world, six of whom are from the MENA region. The news dropped just days ahead of the announcement of the very first Art Basel in Qatar in 2026, signalling a positive nod from the global art fair towards arts from the Middle East and North Africa.

The Art Basel Awards are the first global honors dedicated to recognising excellence across the contemporary art world across nine categories: Icon Artists, Established Artists, Emerging Artists, Cross-Disciplinary Creators, Patrons, Institutions, Curators, Allies and Storytellers. Excitingly, professionals from the MENA region are recognised in four of these categories. These medallists will be recognised during the flagship Art Basel fair in Switzerland in June, all of whom will headline the first annual Art Basel Awards Summit on 20 June 2025. This will be a conference in the business of art, also held in Basel. Later in the year, 12 gold medallists will then be announced at Art Basel Miami on 4 December 2025, selected through a peer-driven vote by all of the medallists. These gold medallists will be awarded honorariums of $50,000.

"The Art Basel Awards are not a competition, but a beacon”, says Vincenzo de Bellis, Chair, Art Basel Awards and Director of Fairs & Exhibition Platforms, “They shine a light on those working with radical vision, skill, and commitment to building communities of practice and exchange." The awards do not just celebrate artists, but also curators, institutions, patrons and storytellers, they recognise the entirety of the art world, not just its makers. Further, the Art Basel awards website states: “Art Basel Awards seek to support the future of the industry by democratically honoring those who move and make art from vision to reality. The first of its kind, Art Basel Awards span the full spectrum of artistic and cultural impact, covering nine categories. In its debut year, Art Basel Awards is the beginning of an ever-evolving commitment to those who challenge, innovate and shape the future of art beyond the frame.”

Amongst the panel of experts are Hans Ulrich Obrist, Koyo Kouoh, and the MENA region's very own Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation. "What makes these awards different is their focus on artists who are shaping new realities, not just following trends", she says, "This kind of space, where artistic freedom is prioritised over market demands, is rare but essential. It's about creating opportunities for artists to grow on their own terms, without compromising their vision." Promisingly, MENA artists dominate the Emerging Artists category, making up 50% of the medallists with awards for Mohammed Alfaraj, Meriem Bennani and Lydia Ourahmane. Having initially studied engineering, Saudi artist Alfaraj’s work is influenced by his hometown of Al Ahsa in Saudi Arabia. A multidisciplinary artist, he also works with poetry, using his work to capture the trace, impact and imprint of life, both literary and metaphorically. The two other MENA artists in the emerging category, both have roots in North Africa. Bennani is Moroccan and lives in the US, where Ourahmane is Algerian and works in the UK. Bennani is known for her groundbreaking video installations and sculptures informed by the circulation of global cultures online. These are frequently rooted in the specifics of Moroccan life offline and online, speaking to the hybrid nature of contemporary cultural flows. Meanwhile, Ourahmane’s multidisciplinary practice spans installation, sound, video, performance, and sculpture.

The other artist from the MENA region to be awarded a medal is Nairy Baghramian, in the Established Artist category. Born in Iran, of Armenian origin, and working in Berlin, Baghramian’s work traverses the realms of sculpture, installation, photography and drawing with fearless experimentation, historical acuity and conceptual rigor. She is known particularly for her work in sculpture and has had an extremely successful career, with her work now in esteemed collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, London’s Tate Modern and the Centre Pompidou in Paris amongst many, many others. “These awards serve as an acknowledgement of [her] influence in shaping the future of art”, says Baghramian’s gallery, Marian Goodman, “This award honors visionaries, individuals and organizations, who are defining the direction of contemporary art.”

In addition to medals for artists, Bidoun’s Negar Azimi was awarded a medal in the Media and Storytellers category, while Jameel Arts Centre was awarded in the Institutions category. “TThis award is for the artists, curators, researchers and educators we work with; the enthusiastic audiences who support us daily”, said the institution.

The fact that one in six medallists has MENA origins is hugely exciting for the art scene in our region. As to who will win a gold medal? We will have to wait until December for what we hope will be even more good news.