Sabsay booth at Code Art Fair. Photo credit: I DO ART Agency
Over the last half a century, art fairs have exploded across the globe.
Art fairs continue to be the epicenter where art buyers, curators, collectors gather experience, see, purchase, and hobnob with galleries representing artists from all over the world. This is where galleries gain notoriety along with income, where professionals nurture relationships, and where individuals grow their collections. Not only do they remain the dominant economic model for the art market, there is an emerging lifestyle of glamour and adventure that surrounds them.
It’s easy to get swept away by the fervor and excitement of Armory Week, Frieze Week, or Art Basel with blue-chip galleries and sumptuous spectacles. However, an increasingly connected and global art community now provides dozens of events worldwide, so that you can seek out the latest artists, fair format or passport stamp.
Whether you’re a major collector or an art enthusiast with a wanderlust, here’s a list of some upcoming events that are beyond Basel.
Melbourne Art Fair
August 2 - 5, 2018
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne Art Fair is a biennial event that showcases leading galleries and works by respected contemporary artists from Australia, New Zealand, and the region. Melbourne Art Fair is the flagship event of Melbourne Art Week, a week-long city-wide program. “Melbourne Art Fair is more than just an art fair,” Melbourne Art Foundation chair Charles Justin says that the fair focuses on “the cultivation of discussion and creative relationships necessary to support and grow contemporary art.”
With smaller exhibitions and shows throughout the city during Art Week, there will be a broad variety of mediums and media to view while in Melbourne. Find your way to the neighboring Australian Centre for Contemporary Art or NVG International, Australia’s largest art museum, or head up 55 floors to eat at Vue de Monde, all offering once in a lifetime views.
CODE Art Fair
August 30 – September 2, 2018
Copenhagen, Denmark
Code Art Fair an ambitious international art fair in Copenhagen showcasing high-profile contemporary art in a fresh, informal, and pleasant atmosphere that caters to the seasoned and emerging collectors alike.
Just as the city is known for innovative designs in a variety of industries, Code Art Fair also features curated programming in film, talks, and performances featuring prominent artists, writers, curators and collectors that enhance the experience. Find artwork and explore the city outside the typical boundaries of an art fair. Code in the City encourages you to experience site-specific performances and events throughout the city.
Code Art Fair overlaps with Chart Fair Art Fair, a leading Nordic contemporary fair, giving you a deeper dive into what regional artists have to offer. Enjoy the best of local fares at the famous Søllerød Kro country road inn or find your way to Copenhagen Street Food for something that feels very Scandinavian and international.
Zona Maco
August 22 - 26, 2018
February 6 - 10, 2019
Mexico City, Mexico
With a contemporary event in February and a photography event in August, Zona Maco is a well-known fixture in art fairs. Zona Maco is one of the highest attended events worldwide. It is well respected for meshing European and Asian works with the traditional and contemporary indigenous works in a city that straddles the past and the future.
“Zona Maco moves me. This is in part because it brings together the art and people of this ancient country, situated at the heart of the Aztec pyramids and empire, and also because it creates a nexus of old and modern art not seen anywhere else in North America.”
—Georges Berges, owner of Georges Berges Gallery in New York City.
Art Nashville
October 17 - 21, 2018
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is more than country music, it’s a shining example of what a New South urban center can offer. The inaugural event of Art Nashville will be more than the 100 local and international galleries with pavilions that focus on printmaking, emerging galleries, and music row. Enjoy events including an MVP First Look, a collectors lunch, lectures, book signings, and a nightly music program at the downtown bandshell produced by FogoLabs.
Make sure to take in the full experience of the thriving art scene from Hatch Show Print, to contemporary galleries like Tinney Contemporary, and public art installations like Kelsey Montague’s “WhatLiftsYou” wings. No southern experience is complete without a meal or two and Nashville won’t disappoint, make a reservation at City House or Kanye Prime. You can’t visit Music City without taking a trip to Lower Broadway for a night at a classic honky tonk and catch a set by local legends.
