The flowers are blooming, the pollen count is astronomical, and the temperature is swinging wildly from 45 to 90 degrees. It must be spring in New York City.
Another hallmark of the season is the rash of art fairs that descend on the city like a lovely mist, from TEFAF at the Park Avenue Armory to NADA on the Lower East Side. What’s new is that this year, a consortium of galleries, museums, and auction houses have banded together to present New York Art Week, a dedicated city-wide art extravaganza to highlight what’s on show.
“New York Art Week is an opportunity to amplify the complexity of New York’s many art worlds,” Matthew Higgs, the director of White Columns gallery, said. “From the smallest independent art space to the largest institution, we are all committed to creating a context and developing an audience for artists’ ideas.”
When it comes to fairs, there are four events happening between May 5 and May 10, with over 350 galleries setting up shop from all over the world. Below, we’ve got all the information you need to get ready to go shopping.
The beloved Independent Art Fair, now in its 13th edition, is returning to its old Tribeca digs at Spring Studios, where 66 galleries and institutions will present exhibitions. There are 16 newcomers to the roster this year, including Allouche Benias Gallery Gallery from Greece, Bradley Ertaskiran from Canada, and Temnikova & Kasela Gallery from Estonia. A slew of New York galleries, including Kasmin, Deli, and Maxwell Graham/Essex Street, are also partaking this year.
When: Thursday, May 5–Sunday, May 8 (invitation-only VIP preview Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Public hours: Friday and Saturday, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Spring Studios, 50 Varick Street
Tickets: $60
For its eighth edition, the New Art Dealers Alliance is showing 120 exhibitors from 18 countries including gallerists from Mexico City, Paris, Kyiv, and Buenos Aires. Be sure to check out solo projects by Daniel Arnold at New York’s Larrie, Tessa Lynch at Glasgow-based Patricia Fleming Gallery, and Kolya Zhuk from Warsaw’s High Gallery.
When: Thursday, May 5–Sunday, May 8 (invitation-only VIP preview Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Public hours: Thursday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Pier 36, 299 South Street
Tickets: $55
The newest outfit on the landscape is the appropriately named Future Fair, opening its sophomore in-person edition this spring in a larger space to accommodate 50 exhibitors coming to Chelsea. More than one-quarter of the exhibitors are BIPOC-owned businesses, and more than half are female-owned, making this one of the most diverse fairs around. Newcomers include Savannah’s Laney Contemporary, Bogotá’s SGR Galeria, and Montreal’s Duran and Mashaal.
When: Thursday, May 5–Saturday, May 7 (invitation-only VIP preview Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.). Public hours: Thursday and Friday, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Chelsea Industrial, 535 West 28th Street
Tickets: $39
