Today, ArtReview announced its annual Power100 list, the publication’s definitive roundup of the 100 most influential figures in the art world. This year, the list is topped by Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, who rose from 36th place in 2023. Director of the Sharjah Biennale since 2003 and founder of the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2009, Al Qasimi has become a central figure in the expansion of the contemporary world. art scene in the Middle East. Her influence is increasingly extending beyond the Gulf, as she has been appointed artistic director of the Aichi Triennale 2025 in Japan (its first non-Japanese director) and will be the curator of the Sydney Biennale in 2026.
2024 marks the 23rd edition of the list, selected by a panel of 40 leading (but anonymous) art world experts. The inclusion is based on the activities of the nominees during the last 12 months, and they are selected for their overall impact on the formation of contemporary art.
The growing influence of the Middle East in the art world is evident throughout the list. Al Qasimi appears alongside Palestinian Commissioner Reem Fadda, who now ranks 56th, up from 57th, in her role as Abu Dhabi’s head of cultural programming. In addition to the UAE, the 2024 list also includes Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, president of Qatar Museums and sister of Qatar’s ruling emir, who is on the list again this year at 21 (in 2013, it was at No. 1, but was not on the 2023 list). In addition, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud, makes his Power100 debut at the age of 41.
The most influential gallerist, according to this year’s Power100, is the trio behind Hauser & Wirth—Hauser & Wirth presidents Iwan Wirth, Manuela Wirth and Marc Payot—who together ranked 28th, down from 14th last year past Gallerists, in general, have seen their ranking drop in all areas: Larry Gagosian with 35 years, down from 12 last year; David Zwirner at 38, down from 19 last year; Emmanuel Perrotin at 42, down from 23 last year; and Monika Sprüth & Philomene Magers at 49, down from 25 last year. That said, the couple behind kurimanzutto, José Kuri and Mónica Manzutto, went from 80 in 2023 to 69 in 2024.
The top 10 of the Power100 list is dominated by artists. Rirkrit Tiravanija, known for his participatory artworks, often based on food, came in at number 2. Other artists in the top 10 include:
British Ghanaian artist John Akomfrah aged 10, up from 33 last year.
However, several artists in the top ten of the 2023 Power100 did not retain their positions in 2024, such as German artist Hito Steyerl, who moved from 2nd to 18th, and American sculptor Simone Leigh, who was ranked 4th in 2023 and it does not appear. on the 2024 list.
Instead, two female writers make the top 10: Saidiya Hartman at No. 3 (up from 34 in 2023) and Anna Kornbluh, who debuts at No. 9. Hartman is celebrated as a transformative voice whose work has reshaped how black life is portrayed in art and art. literature Kornbluh, meanwhile, won recognition for his 2024 book The immediacy or style of capitalism too late. ArtReview praised his work earlier this year, writing, “Kornbluh has done better than almost anyone in recent memory to define the elusive, claustrophobic spirit of the era.”
