Like many other emerging global art hubs, Dubai has used the occasion of major annual art and design fairs in the city to organize a days-long extravaganza: Dubai Art Week, centered around Art Dubai (March 15-18), Design Days Dubai (March 14-17), and Sikka Art Fair (March 12-18), which is devoted solely to Emirati artists. The increasingly prolific Alserkal Avenue (alserkalavenue.ae), a grouping of warehouses designated for arts-related happenings, will be another nucleus of activity. Of particular interest will be Concrete, a new multipurpose space in an OMA-designed building. The inaugural show, “Syria: Into the Light” (March 9-April 3), will include work by Syrian artists selected by the battered country’s nonprofit Atassi Foundation.

Below: Overlooking the Art Dubai venue, Madinat Jumeirah.