Dalloul Art Foundation

What Dalloul Art Foundation does

Dalloul Art Foundation is a privately funded family non-profit cultural foundation established in 2016/2017 and headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon. Its stated mission is the preservation, documentation, research, and exhibition of modern and contemporary Arab art, and it stewards a collection of approximately 3,000 works by 473 artists across 14 countries. The foundation operates a small team of 16 employees combining curatorial, conservation, research, and digital-publishing functions.

The foundation runs three primary revenue and access channels: institutional art lending to museums and biennales, free public membership, and paid or subsidized research and library services. Its commercial levers are deliberately constrained; pricing is closer to cost-recovery than profit-maximization, and the operating model depends materially on continued family funding from the Dalloul family rather than earned income. Distribution occurs through loans to the Venice Biennale, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Barbican Centre, Sursock Museum, NYU Abu Dhabi, and other partner institutions, alongside a digital platform launched in 2020 that expands scholarly and public access to the collection.

The foundation sits at the intersection of a private family collection and a quasi-public cultural institution. Its core product is the curated collection and the curatorial, conservation, and research infrastructure wrapped around it; its underlying technology stack is primarily a content-management and digital-publishing platform rather than a software product, and no proprietary AI or machine-learning capabilities are evidenced. Customer and audience segments are institutional borrowers (museums, biennales, universities), researchers and scholars, and a general public reached through exhibitions, publications, and the online platform.

Name

Dalloul Art Foundation

Legal name

The Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation

Website

https://dafbeirut.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dalloul Art Foundation is a privately funded family non-profit in Beirut, Lebanon, that preserves, documents, researches, and exhibits modern and contemporary Arab art, stewarding roughly 3,000 works across 473 artists and 14 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Art Foundation

NAICS

Museums (71211), Libraries and Archives (51921), Museums (712110)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation) (EDAEAGAJ)

Keywords

• Art collection preservation
• Cultural foundation services
• Museum art loans
• Arab art research
• Digital art archive

Headquarters

HQ city

Beirut

HQ country

Lebanon

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Art Loans and Exhibitions: The foundation generates revenue through lending artworks to museums and institutions internationally, supporting exhibitions at prestigious venues like Venice Biennale, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and other major institutions.
2. Membership and Community: Free membership program that provides access to updates, artist following, artwork saving, and community engagement features.
3. Research and Library Services: Provides research resources, library access, and academic collaboration opportunities for researchers and students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dalloul Art Foundation preserves, documents, and disseminates a curated collection of approximately 3,000 modern and contemporary visual artworks from the Arab world. It operates a free digital reference platform (dafbeirut.org), hosts exhibitions at its Beirut headquarters, loans artworks to international museums and biennales, and provides research resources including a library, video documentaries, and academic literature.

Product overview

The Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation (DAF) is a Beirut-based cultural institution offering a unified digital platform for Arab art access. The core product is the DAF Collection—a digital archive of approximately 3,000 artworks supported by complementary modules including the Artists Database, Exhibitions, Art Loans, Library, Videos, Events, and Literature resources. The Membership Program enables user engagement through following artists and saving artworks. The platform serves researchers, students, and general audiences seeking access to Arab art history and contemporary practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DAF Collection Searchable digital archive of approximately 3,000 modern and contemporary visual artworks from the Arab World spanning painting, drawing, print, photography, ceramic, sculpture, tapestry, and installation, with works by artists from across the Levant, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula.
• Exhibitions Current and past exhibitions showcasing works from the DAF collection and featured artists, including solo shows such as Nabil Kanso: Darkness and Light (Parts I & II) and group exhibitions such as Echoes Across the Nile: A Hundred Years of Egyptian Art.
• Art Loans Program Program loaning artworks from the foundation's collection to international museums and cultural institutions, with current loans including Sursock Museum, Venice Biennale, Barbican Centre, Louvre Abu Dhabi, NYU Abu Dhabi, and Halle für aktuelle Kunst.
• Library Digital library resource containing 989 catalogued items including books, exhibition catalogs, and reference materials related to Arab art and culture.
• Videos Video collection featuring artist interviews, exhibition documentaries, and archival footage, including 68 videos on artists such as Yervant Hawarian, Jean Boghosian, and Nabil Kanso.
• Events Cultural events including artist talks, lectures, premieres, and institutional visits such as the Palestine 36 Premiere and Nabil Nahas at the 61st Venice Biennale.
• Literature Academic articles (36) and artwork descriptions (211) providing scholarly analysis and documentation of works in the collection, covering topics such as Emirati art, Iraqi modernism, and Palestinian heritage.
• Membership Program Free membership program enabling users to receive updates, follow artists, save favorite artworks, and share perspectives on the platform.
• Artists Database Directory of 473 artists from the Arab world, filterable by country and birth year, featuring artists from Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, and UAE.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000 artworks preserved and accessible
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and flagship.

• Louvre Abu DhabimajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2026Art loan partnership for Picasso. The Figure. exhibition (February - June 2026). DAF lends artworks from its collection to the museum for display.
• Barbican Centre, LondonmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2026Art loan partnership for Project a Black Planet exhibition (June - September 2026) at Barbican Centre Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS.
• NYU Abu DhabimajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Art loan partnership for All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Group for Modern Art exhibition.
• East Architecture StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Scenographic design partnership for the Lebanese Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2026, led by Charles Kettaneh and Nicolas Fayad. Developed the spatial approach that transforms the pavilion into a contemplative environment.
• Sursock MuseummajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Art loan partnership for Becoming Icon exhibition (July 2025 - June 2027) at Sursock Museum, Beirut, Lebanon.
• Venice BiennaleflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022DAF has been a steadfast supporter of Biennale Arte 2022 and Biennale Arte 2024, providing both financial contribution and loaning seminal artworks. This support has been crucial to these prestigious international art events.
• Lebanese Pavilion at Venice BiennalecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022As platinum supporters of the Lebanese Pavilion for two consecutive cycles, DAF's comprehensive support underscores its commitment to the Biennale and the broader art community.
• Dr. Basel DalloulcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Chairman and Founder who took on the mission of safeguarding the collection and expanding it in January 2016, curating exhibitions and directing the foundation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sursock Museum: Beirut-based historic art museum with permanent collection and exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. DAF is both a local competitor for curatorial attention and a current partner (Becoming Icon loan, 2025-2027); shares the same Beirut audience and overlapping collection era.
• Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art: Qatar-based museum dedicated to modern and contemporary Arab art, holding a permanent collection and curating exhibitions. Directly comparable to DAF in mission (preserving and exhibiting modern Arab art) and visitor/institutional audience, though it operates at significantly larger public-museum scale.
• Sharjah Art Foundation: UAE non-profit foundation running residencies, exhibitions, and a permanent collection focused on contemporary art from the broader MENA region. Comparable to DAF in mission (Arab-contemporary art preservation and exhibition), but with greater institutional scale and programming breadth.
• Darat al Funun - The Khalid Shoman Foundation: Amman-based private family art foundation that preserves, exhibits, and lends Arab art through a permanent collection, library, and exhibition space. Closely comparable to DAF in family-foundation structure, Arab-art focus, library/archive function, and loan-driven model.
• Barjeel Art Foundation: Sharjah-based private family-founded art foundation that maintains a significant collection of modern Arab art and runs an active art-loan and exhibition programme. Closest structural peer to DAF: family-owned, non-profit, collection-and-loan-driven model focused on regional Arab art, with similar digital presence and international touring exhibitions.

Emerging players

• KW Institute for Contemporary Art: Berlin-based non-profit contemporary art institution that combines exhibitions, research, and a public programme with a focus on postcolonial and MENA artists. Comparable in operating model (non-profit, exhibition-and-research-driven) and in feature overlap with DAF on contemporary Arab art programming, though without a comparable permanent collection.

Broad incumbents

• Institut du Monde Arabe: Paris-based cultural institution dedicated to Arab civilization through permanent collection, exhibitions, library, and research programmes. Mission-aligned with DAF in preserving and disseminating Arab art and culture; comparable in library/archives and loan model, but operates at much larger public-institution scale.
• Louvre Abu Dhabi: Universal art museum on Saadiyat Island and a current DAF loan recipient (Picasso exhibition, 2026). Comparable as a global cultural institution running large-scale international loan and exhibition programmes, but operates at national-museum scale with a state-backed mandate far broader than Arab modern art.
• Aga Khan Museum: Toronto-based museum of Islamic art and culture with permanent collection, loan programme, and research library. Broader geographic and historical scope than DAF but overlaps in mission (preserving and exhibiting Muslim-world art, scholarship, and lending to international institutions).

Others

• Middle East Center at the Aga Khan University (AKU) Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations: London-based research and library institution dedicated to the study of Muslim civilisations, with archival holdings and a research publication programme. Comparable to DAF in the research/library function supporting Arab art and cultural scholarship, but operates in academic rather than curatorial/museum space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dafbeirut
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@dafbeirut
• Facebookfacebook.com/dafbeirut
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dalloul-art-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/dafbeirut

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Dalloul Art Foundation