Future Fair to open its fourth annual in-person fair, taking place during New York Art Week. The Fair returns to Chelsea Industrial welcoming over 60 local, national and international exhibitors. Presenting compelling curated and solo projects, Future Fair will host a VIP Preview on Wednesday, May 1st, and will be open to the public May 2nd-4th, 2024.
Mutual Aid & DEI Fund
Beginning in 2020, Future Fair offered Founding Galleries the option to join in a profit-sharing plan with the company for the first four years, splitting 35% of the fair’s profits, a plan which viewed the galleries as shareholders. The Founding Galleries could then elect to allocate their earnings to the “Pay it Forward Fund,” which has since culminated in $10,000 for the 2023 edition and $12,000 for the 2024 edition, offered as mutual aid grants to a selection of young and diverse platforms. Future Fair additionally offers community-supported DEI Grants, providing support for diverse business owners to participate at a free or lower price at the Fair. As with the Pay-It-Forward fund, exhibitors are invited to contribute to and/or apply to the DEI Grants. This model allows for smaller, emerging galleries to participate in the New York and international art market and results in a stronger exhibition program. To date, over $25,000 in combined Pay-It-Forward and DEI Grants has been awarded to emerging galleries participating in Future
Fair editions.
2024 Curatorial Committee
Launched in the fall of 2023, the inaugural Curatorial Committee includes Anne-Laure Lemaitre, Independent Curator, Creative Strategist, and Producer; Osman Can Yerebakan, Freelance Art and Culture Writer; and Constanza Valenzuela, Assistant Curator of High Line Art and Co-Founder of ACOMPI. By nominating galleries for the fair, the Curatorial Committee furthers Future Fair’s commitment to maintaining high standards in the selection process, while also broadening the scope of the creative vision of the fair. With their varying backgrounds, each curator lends new perspectives and insights into identifying contemporary trends and interests of today’s artists.
The gathering of the New York art world, coupled with what Future Fair brings to it by showcasing new artist voices, galleries, and curatorial initiatives, sparks genuine excitement and anticipation. The insights provided by this year’s inaugural curatorial committee have enabled us to broaden our scope, focusing on what is relevant, urgent, and inspiring to contemporary artists. The show is a unique juxtaposition of artists near and far in dialog with one another.
We take great pride in witnessing the continuous growth and evolution of Future Fair. Just as we strive to raise the bar for the fair, our galleries and artists also continue to excel and push boundaries.
— Future Fair founders Rachel Mijares Fick and Rebeca Laliberte
Strong Presence of International Galleries
Future Fair 2024 exhibitors converge again across five continents, indicating the strength and resilience of New York’s art market and international dealers’ recognition of this truth. Future Fair 2024 features over 60 galleries representing 10 countries, including Korea, Nigeria, Brazil, Austria, Canada, Norway, England, France, Italy and the United States. The fair has a particularly high concentration of galleries from Montréal, including Jano Lapin Gallery, Wishbone Art Gallery, Duran | Mashaal and TIAN Contemporain. In addition, Future Fair is pleased to welcome three galleries from Oslo including BO, The Association of Visual Artists Oslo, Pachinko Oslo and PODIUM.
Intentional Focus on New York
With 20 galleries from New York and the boroughs, the fair continues to have a hyperlocal feel, narrowing in on the New York art market. Some returning emerging and established galleries include Good Naked Gallery, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, Trotter&Sholer, IRL Gallery and Mama Projects. Future Fair is delighted to welcome some new NYC-based galleries including Hashimoto Contemporary, RAINRAIN, YI GALLERY and FORMah.
Bringing Emerging and National Galleries to NYC
Future Fair prides itself on providing exhibition platforms in New York City, particularly for emerging galleries and galleries based in cities that aren’t major art hubs. In this year’s edition, Future Fair is presenting a large cohort of galleries that are less than five years old, including homework, GALLERY AFTERNOON and Sabroso Projects.
Additionally, Future Fair will present around 17 national exhibitors not based in New York, some hailing from major cities like Miami, Los Angeles and Dallas, and others coming from smaller towns in New York, such as Bill Arning Exhibitions (Kinderhook, NY), TURLEY GALLERY (Hudson, NY) and Elijah Wheat Showroom (Newburgh, NY). ARDEN + WHITE (New Canaan, CT) returns to the fair along with Red Arrow Gallery (Nashville, TN), which saw impressive sales of Emily Weiner’s work in the 2023 edition. New to the fair is smoke the moon (Santa Fe, NM) an emerging gallery that opened in 2021 and presents early-career artists. In providing exposure to the New York market and Future Fair’s strong community, the fair can positively influence the trajectory of these galleries and the careers of the artists, while simultaneously opening collectors up to new discoveries.
Highlighting Women-Owned Galleries
In its five years of fairs, Future Fair has consistently shown a large number of women-owned galleries and this year 75% of the exhibitors are women-owned. With a healthy mix of well-established and young galleries, Future Fair provides a platform for collaboration and mentorship among gallerists. Asya Geisberg started Asya Geisberg Gallery in New York in 2010 and was one of Future Fair’s founding galleries, paving the way for more and more women-owned galleries to join the fair. Galleries like newcube (founded by Bibi Zavieh and Claire Toole) and LaiSun Keane opened during the pandemic and highlight early career artists, while also offering unique, accessible online platforms that push back on the traditional gallery mold. 2024 Talks Lounge
Partnering with Less Than Half, the 2024 edition of the Talks Lounge for Future Fair will draw on Less Than Half’s ‘Matronage Salons’, a series of talks centered on candid conversations with art world professionals that take a peek behind the curtain, giving “matrons of the arts” practical advice for navigating the art world, with a focus on supporting women artists. Additional partners will host private events, sponsored talks, artwork, and cocktail hours throughout the week of the fair.
Future Fair 2024, 1st May- 4th May, Chelsea Industrial 535-549 W 28th St
Future Fair’s Digital Companion – Powering the technology behind Future Fair’s Digital Companion is Arcual. A bespoke online sales platform launching ahead of the fair’s fourth edition, the Digital Companion platform will connect collectors with the more than 60 local, national and international exhibitors participating in the 2024 fair. The collaboration between Future Fair and Arcual is the first in a multi-year partnership between the two organizations.
On Digital Companion, collectors can place requests on artworks before, during and after the week of Future Fair, from April 24 to May 25, 2024. Visitors to the fair at Chelsea Industrial, New York, will also be able to view artworks featured on the platform in person at gallery booths starting May 1, 2024. Once a purchase request is accepted, collectors have the option to pay via bank transfer or credit card. Seamless delivery of artwork documentation through a Digital Dossier will follow, available in the summer of 2024.
