With the art world continuing to expand its global reach and scope, new destinations are emerging as thriving hubs of artistic activity. As we spotlighted last year, a growing crop of cities worldwide are becoming homes to new scenes of galleries, collectors, and exciting initiatives.
This year, we spotlight five more emerging art world capitals for collectors and art lovers alike to keep their eyes on in 2025—from global metropolises bolstering their art world clout to newly buzzing art.
Milan, Italy
Long established as a design stronghold in Europe, Milan is carving an increasingly strong niche in the contemporary art world. Located just two and a half hours from Venice by train, this Italian city annually hosts a prominent array of international art and design events, including the contemporary art fair Miart and the renowned Salone del Mobile, which has celebrated design for over six decades.
Milan has all the makings of an influential art capital. The city is home to prestigious galleries, including stalwarts Cardi Gallery and MASSIMODECARLO, as well as international newcomers like the London-founded Cadogan Gallery and Robilant+Voena. It’s also home to Lehmann Maupin, which debuted a “seasonal” gallery in the city coinciding with the 60th Venice Biennale—its first outpost in Italy.
Collectors and galleries are also being increasingly drawn to Milan thanks to Italy’s favorable tax system, which offers a flat annual tax of €200,000 ($207,800) on foreign income for wealthy individuals relocating to Italy. Gallerist Ben Brown, who is set to open a branch in the city, credited Milan’s status as a “fiscal paradise” in a recent interview with Artsy.
Milan’s buzz in the commercial sector is also undergirded by a formidable institutional network, from the grand Fondazione Prada to expansive spaces like Pirelli HangarBicocca. In the heart of the city, Palazzo Citterio—a museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art housed within an 18th-century building close to the Pinacoteca di Brera—finally opened its doors in December 2024 after 50 years of planning.
As more collectors and gallerists make Milan a key destination, Soho House is also poised to capitalize on this surge of interest. The members-only creative sanctuary recently announced plans to revitalize a six-story 1930s building, formerly the home of Cinema Art.
Warsaw, Poland
With the revitalization of art institutions and infrastructure a priority for the Polish government, the capital Warsaw is fast becoming a key Eastern European arts hub.
Recent highlights in this regard include NADA Villa Warsaw, which launched last year as a beacon for the local and international art scene. Key Warsaw-based gallerists—Michał Kaczyński of Raster, Marta Kołakowska from LETO Gallery, and Joanna Witek-Lipka, orchestrator of the Warsaw Gallery Weekend—came together to curate this vibrant fair, which drew 44 international galleries and art spaces from 25 cities. The event adopted a collaborative exhibition format, taking place within the historic walls of Villa Gawrońskich, a neo-baroque gem nestled in the heart of Warsaw.
In the same collaborative spirit, the city played host to the inaugural Constellations gallery event in April 2024. This new initiative showcases leading Polish galleries alongside invited international counterparts and is set to return in April 2025. The two events add ballast to two existing fixtures in the city’s art calendar: Warsaw Gallery Weekend, which launched in 2011, and Warsaw Art Fair, which mounted its 21st edition in November. Taken together, this slate of events positions the city as a tentpole for the Eastern European art world.
On the institutional front, perhaps the most anticipated development is the opening of the first permanent location of Warsaw’s Museum of Modern Art. Funded by the city of Warsaw, the new museum will be housed in a 213,000-square-foot building in Defilad (Parade) Square. It will open to the public in February 2025 with a collection of post-war Polish and international art.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates has become one of the fastest-growing hubs of international wealth and culture in recent years. In 2024 alone, Art Dubai’s 17th edition solidified Dubai’s status as a prime destination for regional collectors, while Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, director of the Sharjah Biennale, was named the most influential person on the ArtReview Power100 list. Yet it is Abu Dhabi, one of the wealthiest cities in the world, that will be the most closely observed by art world watchers in 2025.
An influx of investment and interest lays the groundwork for the next stage of cultural growth in Abu Dhabi, with cultural icons such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi already earning recognition for the city. This year, the highly anticipated openings of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum in 2025 are expected to further enhance the city’s international profile. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will reportedly be 12 times larger than its New York counterpart. Designed as a tribute to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the U.A.E., the Zayed National Museum will serve as the centerpiece of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District.
The U.A.E.’s capital has also become an established plank on the art fair circuit over the last two decades. Abu Dhabi Art’s latest edition featured 104 galleries—40% of which were first-time participants. Notable among the international galleries were Lagos’s kó from Lagos and London’s JD Malat (which recently announced a Dubai location). Rumors of a potential investment from Art Basel circulating at last year’s event is a development to keep a close eye on, and a testament to the fair’s growing prominence. Moreover, it also highlights the region’s status as an international exchange, much like when Sotheby’s received a $1 billion cash injection from the Abu Dhabi–based wealth fund ADQ
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Mumbai, India
It’s perhaps no surprise that Mumbai, the second-largest city in India, is swiftly establishing itself in the art world. According to the Hurun Research Institute, the city has surpassed Beijing as Asia’s wealthiest city with 92 billionaires, and this concentration of wealth is cultivating a new wave of collectors: In 2023, the value of art sold at auction in India reached a record $183 million.
As a torchbearer for the city’s growing art community, Art Mumbai has swiftly become the premier event dedicated to modern and contemporary art in India’s financial capital since it was launched in 2023. During its 2024 edition, the fair hosted 71 galleries from around the world at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, an equestrian track in the city’s center. Now in its third year, the art fair is scheduled to return to the race track from November 13th to 16th.
As Mumbai welcomes more international visitors, the local gallery scene is poised for further growth. The city is home to spaces like Jhaveri Contemporary and Nature Morte, alongside Delhi-founded DAG and Kolkata-founded Experimenter. Further boosting its cultural momentum, the recent opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in late March 2023 introduced a major art hub for the city. The center is dedicated to promoting India’s leading artists and introducing cutting-edge international talent to Mumbai, evidenced by India’s first Pop Art exhibition mounted in December 2023, positioning the city as a pivotal hub.
Marrakech, Morocco
Bustling markets, serene medinas, and ornate architecture are among the main attractions that have made Marrakech the premier tourist destination of Morocco. The North African city has long embraced its role as a cultural crossroads, where trade routes, culture, and art converge in vibrant fashion. Marrakech has long been a creative hub, but several exciting developments are set to see its star rise further in the contemporary art world.
In recent years, the “Red City” has also earned a reputation as a haven for contemporary African art, initially sparked by the Marrakech Biennale in 2004. Although the Biennale ceased operations just before its 2018 edition, the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair launched that same year. The fair’s prominence is increasing still, and its sixth edition will take place from January 30th to February 2nd across the La Mamounia hotel and the cutting-edge DaDa—a new multilevel art-meets-dining hub in the city’s Medina.
Waha, 2024
Amina Agueznay
Loft Art Gallery
As 1-54 spotlights Marrakech on the global stage, the city’s institutions have continued to strengthen the city’s contemporary art scene. Notably, the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, the second museum dedicated to contemporary African art on the continent, will reopen in February 2025 after extensive renovations. Its inaugural exhibition, “7 Contours, 1 Collection,” will showcase over 150 rotating works amassed by the museum’s founder, Othman Lazraq, and his family.
Alongside the revitalized museum, Marrakech is experiencing a surge of momentum in its gallery scene, which is primarily being enriched by established Moroccan galleries that are expanding their presence. Tastemakers such as La Galerie 38 and Loft Art Gallery (one of Artsy’s breakout galleries from 2024), both with roots in Casablanca, have broadened their operations to Marrakech in recent years.
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