Lawrie Shabibi

What Lawrie Shabibi does

Lawrie Shabibi is a privately held contemporary art gallery founded in 2011 and headquartered in Dubai's Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz. The gallery represents a roster of over 30 artists from the Middle East and internationally — including Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Shahpour Pouyan, Hamra Abbas, Dima Srouji, and Marwan Bassiouni — and provides artist representation, exhibitions, public art commissions, and an online viewing room. Its core customer base comprises high-net-worth collectors, museums, and public institutions seeking vetted contemporary Middle Eastern and international art.

The gallery's commercial activities span primary-market sales of represented artists' works, secondary-market facilitation, publication of exhibition catalogues, and a Shopify-based online store. Distribution is executed through a single physical gallery in Dubai, regular participation in major international art fairs (Art Dubai, Art Basel Hong Kong, Frieze Seoul, Art021 Shanghai, Abu Dhabi Art, Art Week Riyadh, Aichi Triennale), and institutional collaborations including Sotheby's Dubai, the National Pavilion UAE, Alserkal Arts Foundation, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, and Maraya Art Centre. The gallery has placed artists at the Venice Biennale (2022), Islamic Arts Biennale 2025, and Aichi Triennale 2025, and has produced large-scale public art interventions such as Shaikha Al Mazrou's 'Deliberate Pauses' in Dubai and 'The Contingent Object' at Manar Abu Dhabi 2025.

Lawrie Shabibi operates with a small team of 9 employees and is independently owned, with no parent company, subsidiaries, or external funding rounds disclosed. The business is relationship-driven, with pricing and sales confidential to the gallery. International exposure is delivered through global art fair participation and institutional partnerships rather than through owned foreign gallery spaces.

Name

Lawrie Shabibi

Legal name

Lawrie Shabibi

Website

https://lawrieshabibi.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lawrie Shabibi is a Dubai-based contemporary art gallery in Alserkal Avenue representing 30+ Middle Eastern and international artists, serving high-net-worth collectors, museums, and institutions through exhibitions, art fairs, and public art commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemporary Art Gallery

NAICS

Art Dealers (459920), Art Dealers (45992)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Contemporary art gallery
• Middle Eastern art
• Artist representation
• International art fairs
• Public art commissions

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Art Sales: Primary revenue from selling contemporary artworks by represented artists to collectors, museums, and institutions. The gallery also facilitates secondary market sales and participates in art fairs where sales occur directly to buyers.
2. Art Fair Participation: Revenue generated through participation in international art fairs including Art Dubai, Art Basel Hong Kong, Frieze Seoul, Art021 Shanghai, Abu Dhabi Art, and others. Sales occur during these events to international collectors and institutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lawrie Shabibi is a Dubai-based contemporary art gallery that represents a roster of 30+ Middle Eastern and international artists. It sells artworks directly to collectors and institutions through its physical gallery in Alserkal Avenue, an online viewing room, and participation in major international art fairs. The gallery also organizes solo and group exhibitions, produces exhibition publications, and facilitates public art commissions for corporate and institutional clients.

Product overview

Lawrie Shabibi is a Dubai-based contemporary art gallery specializing in Middle Eastern art. The gallery operates as a unified service model offering artist representation, physical and online exhibitions, participation in international art fairs, public art commissions, an online viewing room for sales, and publications. The gallery represents a roster of international artists including Shahpour Pouyan, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Hamra Abbas, Dima Srouji, Marwan Bassiouni, and others, providing comprehensive gallery services that connect artists with collectors, institutions, and the broader art market through exhibitions, art fairs, and digital platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sotheby's DubaicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2025Lawrie Shabibi collaborated with Sotheby's Dubai to present 'Form and Rhythm' exhibition from March 12 to May 7, 2025, as part of The Gallery Collective initiative. The exhibition featured works by gallery artists at Sotheby's Dubai space.
• Alserkal Arts FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlserkal Arts Foundation, in partnership with Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, presented 'Deliberate Pauses' by Shaikha Al Mazrou, curated by Faysal Tabbarah - the largest site-specific art intervention in Dubai. Lawrie Shabibi gallery represents the artist.
• Dubai Culture & Arts AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDubai Culture & Arts Authority partners with galleries and artists for public art initiatives and cultural programs, including the Dubai Public Art programme.
• National Pavilion UAEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe gallery represents Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim who was featured in the National Pavilion UAE at the Venice Biennale 2022 with 'Between Sunrise and Sunset' exhibition.
• Maraya Art CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGallery artists including Shaikha Al Mazrou and Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim have exhibited at Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kalfayan Galleries: Athens-based gallery with a strong Middle Eastern and international contemporary art program. Comparable artist roster profile and participation in international art fairs like Art Basel.
• Green Art Gallery: Dubai-based contemporary art gallery with a long history of representing Iranian, Middle Eastern, and international artists. Direct competitor for collector relationships and artist representation in the Gulf.
• Rose Issa Projects: London-based gallery specializing in contemporary Middle Eastern and North African art. Direct competitor for institutional placements, artist representation, and collector relationships in the MENA category.
• Leila Heller Gallery: New York/Dubai-based contemporary art gallery representing Middle Eastern, South Asian, and international artists. Multi-city model with comparable MENA artist focus and institutional exhibition program.
• Athr Gallery: Jeddah-based contemporary art gallery representing Saudi and Arab artists, participating in Art Dubai and international fairs. Comparable MENA focus with rapidly expanding Saudi market exposure.
• Tabari Artspace: Dubai-based contemporary gallery with parallel positioning around MENA artists and participation in major international art fairs. Direct competitor in the same Dubai gallery ecosystem.
• Galerie Sfeir-Semler: Beirut/Hamburg-based gallery with a long-standing program of contemporary Arab and international artists. Comparable in artist representation depth, regional expertise, and participation in international art fairs.
• The Third Line: Dubai-based contemporary art gallery also based in Alserkal Avenue, representing Middle Eastern and international artists. Closest geographic and programmatic peer with similar institutional and art fair participation profile.

Broad incumbents

• Galleria Continua: Major international gallery with locations in Italy, France, China, Cuba, Brazil, South Korea, and Dubai. Represents some international artists also shown at Lawrie Shabibi and competes at the same major art fairs.
• Perrotin: Major international gallery with locations in Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and Dubai. Significantly larger scale but competes for the same top MENA artists and collector relationships through its Dubai presence.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lawrieshabibi
• Facebookfacebook.com/146579858733238
• Instagraminstagram.com/lawrieshabibi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lawrie-shabibi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lawrie Shabibi