Ramin Salsali, DubaiRamin Salsali, an Iranian expatriate and Dubai-based property developer, opened the Salsali Private Museum in 2011 in Al Quoz, showcasing over 800 contemporary works by Middle Eastern artists like Hazem Harb, Reza Derakshani, and Amirhossein Zanjani. Salsali's passion for art began by accident when Berlin Wall graffiti artist Kiddy Citny repaid a loan with paintings. Salsali’s vision is to transform Dubai into a world-class art hub, and he’s currently working on the $7 million Dubai Museum of Contemporary Art (DMOCA) with British-Iraqi artist Alia Dawood as creative director.
Sheikh Al Mayassa bint Hamad al Thani, QatarDescribed by Forbes as the “undisputed queen of the art world,” Sheikha Al Mayassa, chairwoman of Qatar Museums, oversees acquisitions of major works by artists like Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, and Mark Rothko. With a $1 billion annual acquisition budget, her collection includes the world’s largest accumulation of modern and contemporary Arab art, featuring artists such as Jewad Selim and Mahmoud Moukhtar. Sheikha Al Mayassa has been recognized in ArtReview’s Power 100 and Forbes’ list of the 100 most powerful women.
Basel and Ramzi Dalloul, EgyptCairo-based Basel Dalloul, CEO of Noor Group, and his father Ramzi, an influential collector, have one of the largest private collections of modern and contemporary Arab art, with over 3,500 works by artists like Marc Guiragossian and Tagreed Darghouth. The family plans to house the collection in a future museum for modern and contemporary Arab art in Beirut.
Amer Huneidi, KuwaitKuwaiti-Palestinian entrepreneur Amer Huneidi has been collecting modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art for over a decade. Founder of the non-profit Contemporary Art Platform (CAP) in Kuwait, Huneidi energizes the local art scene and has become one of the region’s prominent collectors, helping foster relationships with artists and curators.
Tony Salame, LebanonLebanese retail mogul Tony Salame blends art and fashion through his Aishti Foundation in Beirut, exhibiting his vast collection of contemporary art. Featuring works by Mona Hatoum, Akram Zaatari, and Gerhard Richter, the museum was designed by British architect David Adjaye at an estimated cost of $100 million, with a striking red ceramic facade inspired by Beirut’s architecture.
