First Impressions of Art Basel Qatar with Margaret Carrigan of Artnet News

In this week's week on the ArtTactic Podcast, host Adam Green is joined by Margaret Carrigan, News Editor at Artnet News, to unpack the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar. Drawing on her reporting, Margaret discusses why a Middle East fair makes strategic sense for Art Basel at this moment, how galleries and insiders approached the week with a mix of excitement and uncertainty, and what it actually felt like to experience a smaller, more curated fair format without traditional booths. The conversation explores whether the fair’s structure allowed for deeper engagement with artists, how sales ultimately played out, and the role of Qatari institutions as buyers. Stepping back, the episode considers the bigger takeaway from this first edition and whether Art Basel Qatar feels like an immediate success or a fair that will need time to develop and find its footing.