Your Go-To Guide to NYC's Spring Art Fairs
From art-market darlings at Frieze to a show billed “The Art Fair Mamdani Would Love,” there’s something for everyone this season.
While the New York City flowers haven’t all reared their hopeful heads yet, weary of spurious spring weather, numerous art fairs are about to pop up across the boroughs.
Coming back to The Shed this May, Frieze is usually the premier fair for contemporary art collectors, market-watchers, and trend-forcasters alike, but it’s certainly not the be-all end-all of the season. We’ve assembled this guide knowing that there’s something for everyone out there, including but not limited to: radical zine fanatics, Dolly Parton stans (stay with us), collectors on a budget (and we mean budget!), and those looking to deepen their knowledge of deep-seated art historical legacies.
We’re especially looking forward to the Black Zine Fair’s free community-based programming and workshops, drawing dealers coming to the IFPDA Print Fair for the first time, and the chance to see art by some of this year’s Venice Biennale participants. And if you want more, check out our exhibition recommendations for the upcoming season here.
Affordable Art Fair
March 18–22 | affordableartfair.com
Starrett-Lehigh Building, 601 W 26th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
The Affordable Art Fair returns to New York City this week with its typical price range of $100 to $12,000, gathering 90 exhibitors showing works geared toward both newcomer and veteran collectors. This year, 24 years after its first New York show, the event is embracing the unofficial tag “The Art Fair Zohran Mamdani Would Love,” a nod to the new mayor’s affordability agenda. On Thursday, March 19, visitors who bring and donate art supplies to a public school supplies drive will gain free admission.
Outsider Art Fair
March 19–22 | outsiderartfair.com
Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W 18th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
For orange wine types and devotees of the unorthodox, the Outsider Art Fair is back to Chelsea’s Metropolitan Pavilion with 68 exhibitors from across the United States and the world, including nonprofits and studios, showing work by artists who create without conventional arts training. This year, the fair is organizing From the North, an exhibition of works by Inuit artists, including the acclaimed Cape Dorset graphic and textile artist Kenojuak Ashevak. Plus, proceeds from a silent auction of donated works will go to the nonprofit God’s Love We Deliver, created in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
New York International Antiquarian Book Fair
April 30–May 3 | nyantiquarianbookfair.com
Park Ave Armory, 643 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
A $50,000 copy of Jean Henri Latude’s memoirs signed by Thomas Jefferson, a peculiar illustrated book about fencing gifted to King Louis XIV’s second cousin, and a $27,500 signed copy of Fahrenheit 451. These and more will all be on view at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which opens this spring at the Park Avenue Armory with 170 exhibitors. For its 66th edition, the fair, organized by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, will present panel conversations with contemporary writers, including Eve Babitz biographer Lili Anolik.
IFPDA Print Fair
April 9–12 | fineartprintfair.org
Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
The International Fine Prints & Drawings Association (IFPDA) is debuting its rebrand this coming April, marking the fair’s first-ever inclusion of drawing dealers in the historic print-centered event. Among the 80 exhibitors in this year’s show, special standouts include Cristea Roberts Gallery’s presentation of Paula Rego’s abortion etchings, David Zwirner’s spotlight on newly represented artist Louis Fratino and Burnet Editions’ presentation of Fratino’s self-portrait etchings, and Louise Bourgeois's spiral woodcuts through Caroline Nitsch.
Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair
April 9–12 | powerhousearts.org
Powerhouse Arts, 322 3rd Avenue, Gowanus, Brooklyn
Following its packed launch last year, the Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair, billed as the borough’s first fair exclusively focusing on fine art printmaking, will reemerge for its second iteration at Powerhouse Arts. In an interesting remix of the traditional fair model, gallery exhibitors will display alongside self-representing artists and printmaking departments at academic institutions, including the New School, Hunter College, and Fashion Institute of Technology. Programming includes workshops in monotyping, film screenings, a talk with Glenn Ligon, and a Japanese woodcut demonstration by Takuji Hamanaka.
The Other Art Fair
April 16–19 | theotherartfair.com
Agger Fish (Building 269), 299 Sands Street, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn
Promising an alternative to stuffy gallery encounters, the 17th edition of the Other Art Fair, organized by Saatchi Art, will present 115 independently represented artists. Under the theme “Nostalgia Core,” the fair will highlight works that evoke memories of childhood play and recollection of the past.
The Photography Show
April 22–26 | aipad.com
Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
The 45th edition of the Photography Show, organized by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers, will bring experimental and historically significant photography to the Upper East Side. In a new segment of the event, Focal Point, dealers will showcase contemporary lens-based work they have identified as pushing the bounds of the practice — expect to see pieces by Nino Miglori, Ray Mortenson, and Yi Hsuan Lai, among many others.
Conductor
April 29–May 3 | powerhousearts.org
Powerhouse Arts, 322 3rd Avenue, Gowanus, Brooklyn
After a buzzy “soft launch” last year, Conductor, a pluralistic fair dedicated to artists and dealers from the Global Majority, debuts its official inaugural edition this spring. Twenty-seven galleries from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Indigenous Nations, and beyond. Keep an eye out for works by several 2026 Venice Biennale artists, including Annalee Davis and Tammy Nguyen.
Clio Art Fair
May 7-10; May 14-17 | clioartfair.com
511 West 25th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Two editions of “anti-fair” Clio will present independently represented artists over an extended six days this May. Last year, the event created two separate editions, and the expansion has stuck. Abiding by its name, derived from a Greek root meaning “to celebrate,” or “to make famous,” the fair selects only artists who do not have exclusive gallery representation in New York City. Collectors can expect to find prices between $250 and $40,000 and smiling artists at their booths.
Black Zine Fair
May 9 | Instagram: @blackzinefair
Powerhouse Arts, 322 3rd Avenue, Gowanus, Brooklyn
Free and open to the public, this one-day zine fair rooted in radical Black publishing recurs for a third year, featuring 100 Black artists, presses, and writers. Make sure to check out the Black Reading Room, a space displaying archival materials curated by artist and educator Kameelah Janan Rasheed. Visitors can also join zine-making workshops and related talks. This year’s iteration, organized by the abolitionist feminist press Sojourners for Justice Press, is largely supported by $20,050 in community donations.
Salon Zürcher: 100 Women of Spirit +Part 4
May 11–17 | galeriezurcher.com
Zürcher Gallery, 33 Bleecker Street, East Village, Manhattan
Returning for its 34th edition, the Zürcher Gallery is back with its biannual satellite fair featuring 11 women artists. The small Bleecker Street gallery event draws upon the French term femme d’esprit, which refers to intellectual and clever women. This spring’s show includes an abstract painting by Deborah Freedman and stained glass work by Ellen Mandelbaum.
ESTHER III
May 12–16 | esther.ee
Estonian House, 243 E 34th Street, Murray Hill, Manhattan
The third Baltic-focused Esther art fair returns to Manhattan’s stunning Beaux-Arts Estonian House. Last year’s lineup included 25 galleries from Europe, Asia, and the United States. Shown in an exclusive members' club for Estonians, many of the works on view are typically smaller in scale. So far, the fair has named Max Keene, Jill Goldstein, Laurel Gitlen, Katja Novitskova, and Olivia Jia as participating artists.
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
May 14–17 | 1-54.com
Starrett-Lehigh Building, 601 W 26th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Thirteen years after Touria El Glaoui founded 1-54 as the world’s first contemporary art fair devoted to art from Africa and its diaspora, the event returns to Chelsea’s Starrett-Lehigh Building. Last year’s fair hosted 30 exhibitors from 17 countries. As always, visitors can expect to encounter galleries representing artists from across the African continent, from Marrakesh to Cameroon, and local artists with familial roots in the diaspora.
NADA
May 13–17 | newartdealers.org
Starrett-Lehigh Building, 601 W 26th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
The New Art Dealers’ Alliance’s signature fair is celebrating its 12th birthday this year with over 110 exhibitors across 46 cities worldwide. Typically known for its tight-knit community of small to mid-sized contemporary art galleries, NADA welcomes 51 new participants to this year’s iteration, including Brigitte Mulholland (Paris), The Address (Brescia), and Forgotten Lands (Christiansted). Have a look at Ryan Browning’s paintings and free-standing sculptures at the ADA Gallery booth and Kristen Giorgi’s renderings of non-places shown by the aptly named Spaceless Gallery.
Frieze
May 13–17 | frieze.com
The Shed, 545 W 30th Street, Hudson Yards, Manhattan
As the anchor to New York’s spring art fair frenzy, Frieze usually pulls out all the stops with a handful of Instagrammable kinetic artworks, wall-spanning abstract paintings that escape the confines of rectangular composition, and the unscheduled yet inevitable performance of a stray martini olive haplessly rolling in place on one of The Shed’s many escalators. Each floor presents its own maze of booths divided up between megagalleries and mid-market dealers, with a curatorial emphasis on Central and South American exhibitors in this year’s edition — including newcomers W-galería in Buenos Aires, which will showcase Seba Calfuqueo, and Mexico City’s Campeche, which will present Abraham González Pacheco. Find them in the Focus section, dedicated to galleries 12 years old and younger, once again curated by Lumi Tan — typically one of the most unexpected and exciting areas of this massive show.
Future Art Fair
May 13–16 | futurefairs.com
Chelsea Industrial, 535-551 W 28th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Future Art Fair turns six this year, having made a splash in the scene with its Pay-It-Forward model that reinvests 15% of the fair’s annual profits into grants for select participating galleries. New York City galleries make up over half of the roster of 68 participants this year, sharing the floor with dealers from Nashville to Newburgh and Seattle to Seoul. Painting is the dominant medium at this fair, but one can usually find some really inventive wall-hangings, spunky stoneware, and thoughtfully accessorized booths.
Fridge Art Fair
May 13–17 | fridgeartfair.com
Hotel Alameda/Highline Bar and Lobby, 518 W 27th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
All teenagers go through one phase or another, and at 13 years old, Fridge Art Fair is locked in on Dolly Parton. Fridge’s founder Eric Ginsburg tells Hyperallergic that the event is leaning into joy and playfulness, fixating on Parton’s beloved persona and high-vibrational philanthropy. As it always is with Fridge, the theme is loosely interpreted but there may be an impersonator or two making their rounds onsite. Please be aware that this event is BYOD (Bring Your Own Dog)!
Independent Art Fair
May 14–17 | independenthq.com
Pier 36, 299 South Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan
Reflective of the anxieties that have seeped into all corners of the world, Independent Art Fair’s overarching theme this year is “dystopia,” aptly invoking Gretchen Bender’s media skepticism, Ian Davis’s eerie contemplations of the systems that fail us, and emerging artist Taina Cruz’s examination of Black womanhood as it’s affected by tradition and technology. More than half of this year’s exhibitors are participating in Independent for the first time, maintaining the fair’s identity as a site for rising talent to take root and grow.
TEFAF New York
May 15–19 | tefaf.com
Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
Across jewelry, fine art, antiquities, and design, the European Fine Art Fair 88 exhibitors will bring a tight curation of high material culture across the last seven millennia to the Park Avenue Armory this May. This event is ideal for collectors and aficionados who can spell the word “connoisseur” correctly in the first pass, oyster enjoyers, and history buffs who like to mix it up with some modern and contemporary art.
Focus Art Fair
May 21–24 | focusartfair.net
Chelsea Industrial, 535-551 W 28th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Contemporary Asian art is the central force of Focus Art Fair, this year organized around the topical theme of “Human-Technology Coexistence.” The show is split into multiple sections highlighting emergent art that embodies the diversity of the continent’s creative cultures. One section will be devoted to artists whose practices intersect with generative AI as it becomes inextricably integrated with daily life, and another will emphasize process over product through references to a variety of studio environments.
