Nomination results · Dubai Rating 2025–2026
The first nomination of the new season is about entrepreneurs in the art industry — and that is no coincidence. The cultural cluster in Dubai and across the Emirates is growing fast: from the Dubai Creative Economy Strategy, which aims to increase the creative industries' share of Dubai's GDP, and the world's first cultural visa for writers, artists and creators, to major hubs and fairs such as Alserkal Avenue, Dubai Design District (d3), Art Dubai and others.
Together with partners who understand art entrepreneurship well — the Russian Seasons Arabia festival — we launched a new Dubai Rating nomination to choose the best entrepreneurs in the art industry. In 2025 the festival came to the Emirates for the first time, bringing together the creative communities of Russia and the UAE: designers, architects, urbanists, media and culture entrepreneurs.
Dubai residents cast more than 1,000 votes to choose the best art entrepreneur. The lead changed hands more than once — from Maria Omelyanyuk, Kristina Bekker and Sonya Khmelidze to Yuliana Anikeeva and Vera Alkhova, and finally to our winners.
B.A.S. (Beyond Architecture Studio) is an architecture school with many years of experience. It opened in Dubai in 2024 and currently teaches 90 children. In June the school's curators held a three-day exhibition of works by children aged 6 to 16 at the Alserkal Art Cluster.
WebsiteHere are all the leaders of the nomination — they changed places more than once during the vote.
Main category
258 votes
2 place
202 votes
Founder of the Art House Dubai community — an intellectual film club.
3 place
82 votes
A lecturer from Saint Petersburg who completed a five-year course in contemporary art at the State Hermitage Museum and studied art management. She now lectures in English, bringing art to life — vividly, sensually and in a contemporary way — combining visual culture, fashion and a personal perspective to make art close and relevant.
4 place
73 votes
Art lecturer, collector, PR expert and contemporary art specialist, founder of the Art Spirit agency and a community of art enthusiasts. Art Spirit's mission is 'to bring art and people together', and in 5 years in Dubai they have held 400 events, from workshops and tours to art gala dinners.
5 place
50 votes
Founders of Otdel Iskusstv (The Art Department), a Russian-language media project about art in Dubai. They regularly host art talks with art historians, film directors, writers and other cultural figures, as well as film screenings, open discussions and many other events. Over the past year they organised more than 100 events for over 1,000 people. Otdel Iskusstv won a grant from Dubai Culture's Al Quoz Creative Entrepreneurship initiative.
The rating bot’s official table at the close of voting.
| Place | Nominee | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natalia Melnikova and Sofia Tkach | 258 |
| 2 | Yuliana Anikeeva | 202 |
| 3 | Maria Omelyanyuk | 82 |
| 4 | Vera Alkhova | 73 |
| 5 | Kristina Bekker and Sonya Khmelidze | 50 |
| 6 | Natalia Urmanova | 39 |
| 7 | Zakhar Evseev | 34 |
| 8 | Dmitry Lensky | 26 |
| 9 | Elen Levitt | 24 |
| 10 | Masha Usenok | 22 |
Dubai Rating
Voting, new nominations and results come to the rating’s Telegram bot.