Words By Allegra Salvadori | Photos courtesy of RARARES Gallery

Forget everything you think you know about white-walled galleries. At RARARES, in the heart of DIFC Gate Village, founder Marina Baisel is rewriting the rules—one moment at a time.

With a background in interior design, Baisel sees art not as a static object, but as something that lives and breathes with space. “I don’t believe in white cubes,” she says. “A gallery should feel like a conversation, not a showroom.” That ethos runs through everything at RARARES: the warm lighting, the unexpected textures, the way each work seems to tell a story.

Since opening earlier this year, the gallery has made waves with a bold mix of global perspectives and underrepresented regional voices. Think Emirati icon Fatma Lootah alongside rising names like Mathias Masarati Hagen and Sara Al Haddad. The vibe? Smart, soulful, and unapologetically tactile.

RARARES made a splash at Art Central Hong Kong with Fish Market—a buzzing, immersive take on everyday chaos. And this summer, it heads to Volta Basel with A Contemporary Cabinet of Wonders, a beautifully curated mix of glass, fabric, memory, and myth.

But the magic of RARARES isn’t just what’s on the walls—it’s the way Marina makes you feel like you’re part of something unfolding. Like you’ve stepped into a softer, smarter future of art collecting.

RARARES isn’t trying to impress—it’s trying to connect. And in a city that moves fast, that kind of intention is what truly stands out.