VOLTA celebrates it’s 20th year in Basel next week with new expanded offering at Hall 4.U, Messeplatz 21. The milestone edition will feature 70+ galleries from 29 countries.
The 2025 edition of VOLTA Basel celebrates twenty years of powering artistic discovery and being a trusted force within the emerging contemporary art market. Featuring an expanded roster of over 65 galleries from over 20 countries, VOLTA invites visitors to immerse themselves in a vibrant celebration of diversity, discovery and connection. This year, the fair also pays a special tribute to Basel — its founding city whose influence has been instrumental in enabling VOLTA to become what it is today.
Programme Highlights:
Liebs Basel, Viele Dangg, VOLTA: Complimentary day for Basel Residents
The 2025 edition of VOLTA seeks to honor the city of Basel. On Friday 20 June, Basel residents are invited to experience VOLTA with complimentary access as a gesture of appreciation for the city’s long-standing support of the fair. This special initiative invites the local community to explore and collect a diverse range of contemporary art from around the world, discover local and international galleries, and connect with artists and curators.
MENA Pavilion: A New Perspective on Middle Eastern & North African Art
VOLTA Basel will feature a regional Pavilion, this year presenting the MENA Pavilion, an exhibition dedicated to highlighting the distinct artistic narratives, cultural heritage, and contemporary expressions of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The Pavilion, curated by Randa Sadaka, a writer and curator based in Beirut, serves as both a platform and a statement, bringing forward underrepresented voices, emerging talents, and established artists who challenge conventional perceptions of MENA art.
According to Randa Sadaka’s curatorial vision, the exhibition:
“Reflects the diversity of MENA identities, histories, and contemporary struggles with an inclusion of politically and socially engaged works dealing with displacement, identity, and transformation. Pushing boundaries and bridging gaps, some artists allude to artistic heritage, while others speak of taboos, politics, and history, reflecting on the changes experienced within their societies.”
The Pavilion will feature galleries from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, and Lebanon, with some making their European debut. The MENA Pavilion offers VOLTA visitors a rare opportunity to discover and acquire contemporary works from the region, many of which are being showcased in Europe for the first time.
Amplifying Underrepresented Voices in the Art Market
VOLTA Basel 2025 unveils a preview of exhibitors, featuring a dynamic mix of returning galleries and newcomers. The selection highlights female-led spaces, environmentally focused initiatives, and alternative gallery models, reinforcing VOLTA’s commitment to diversity and innovation.
Exhibitors
Returning Exhibitors: The non-profit gallery Creative Growth (Oakland, USA) returns to VOLTA for the second year, presenting four artists, including Dan Miller and Susan Janow. Work made as part of Creative Growth’s programs have been acquired by major collections worldwide including MoMA, SFMOMA, the Smithsonian, and Collection de L’Art Brut.
Other returning galleries include female-led Galleri Ramfjord (Oslo, Norway) which will present previous Venice Biennale participant, Moldovan artist Valeria Duca, and Galerie Barbara von Stechow (Frankfurt, Germany), which will present contemporary artistic talents from German speaking countries. Gallery Delaive (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) also returns, featuring works by Ayako Rokkaku and Peter Anton.
New for 2025 VOLTA Basel 2025 is delighted to welcome first-time participants, including Galerie One (Paris, France), which will present works including artist Liu Bolin, known for his performative works and collaborations with the United Nations, The Louvre and Centre Pompidou, Paris; Graham Contemporary (Johannesburg, South Africa) will showcase bold colour statements by a selection of artists, including Zimbabwean painter Marc Standing. Fabienne Levy (Lausanne; Geneva, Switzerland) will present Adriel Visoto and Basel-based Mattania Bösiger.
Solo Presentations: The Solo presentation section will feature Trafo Gallery (Prague, Czech Republic), showcasing Jakub Nepraš, whose mixed-media and digital works explore urgent global themes of environmentalism, technology, consumption and exponential growth. ADRIAN SUTTON GALLERY (Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium) will present a solo exhibition of work by Czech painter Adéla Janská.
VOLTA’s Artistic Director, Lee Cavaliere, highlights the significance of this year’s 20th Anniversary Edition, stating that:
“For 20 years VOLTA has presented the new, the unseen and the daring, bringing unheard voices to the heart of Basel art week. Two decades is a long time in the art world, and this year’s Basel edition celebrates our legacy as an agile, trusted hand in this exciting and risk-taking space. We’ve grown and matured, and our new location gives us the room to expand at a time when there’s a new uptick in the emerging and middle market. We have a broader program which explores our evolution while retaining our founding ethos: the power of discovery and the role of art in our lives. Collectors will find something new and intriguing, while considering how much art means to them, and to us all.”
Full list of exhibitors: HERE
ENGAGE | VOLTA Talks Programme
The diverse ENGAGE & EMERGE programme underscores VOLTA’s enduring commitment to showcasing emerging and underrepresented artists on a global stage. ?The fair’s programming delves into pressing themes shaping the contemporary and emerging art landscape: the rise of women in the art market, the impact of geopolitics on the cultural landscape, and the dynamics of local, national, and international arts ecosystems.?
Thursday, 19th June| 3PM – 4PM The Geopolitics of the Art Market Curated and moderated by Tallulah Patricia Bär
Cultural strategist and AfroSwissters founder Tallulah Patricia B leads a discussion on how shifting global power structures are redefining cultural capital and artistic value.? Speakers include Adriano Picinati di Torcello, Global Art and Finance at Deloitte; Lee Cavaliere, Artistic Director, VOLTA and Julia Lechbiska, Founder of Lechbinska Gallery.
Thursday, 19th June | 6PM – 7PM Women on the Rise: A Gendered Power Shift? Moderated by Alexandra Steinacker-Clark
Exploring the increasing prominence of women in the art world, this panel examines whether gender equity is becoming a reality for artists and gallerists.? Speakers include Chus Martínez, Head of the Institute Art Gender Nature, FHNW Academy of Art and Design, Marie Isabelle Poirier Troyano, Artist and Loewe Craft Prize Shortlisted artist, Kimia Nakhaei, International Manager of Mojdeh Gallery, Iran.
Switzerland in Focus
Friday, 20th June | Liebs Basel, Viele Dangg VOLTA | 11AM – 4PM
Basel residents are invited to enjoy a complimentary day at VOLTA on Friday 20th June. As a gesture of appreciation for the city’s long-standing support of the fair – VOLTA says thank you. This special initiative invites the local community to explore and collect a diverse range of contemporary art from around the world, discover local and international galleries, and connect with artists and curators.
Friday, 20th June | EMERGE | 5PM – 9PM
An evening that deep dives into the emerging arts ecosystem in Basel, Switzerland and beyond. In partnership with the magazine PROZ – Kultur im Raum Basel.
From Local to Global – How Artists and Galleries Break Through | 6PM – 7PM
This evening panel discusses the pathways through which artists and galleries transition from local recognition to international acclaim, highlighting the support systems necessary for such growth. Moderated by curator and art historian Carrie Scott. Speakers include ?Keabetswe Boccomino, Curator of Afrinova; Katharina Brandl, Head of Visual Arts at Pro Helvetia; Lee Cavaliere, Artistic Director, VOLTA; and Stevenson Dunn Jr., Co-Founder of The Bishop Gallery.?
VOLTA Basel 19th – 22nd June 2025, Hall 4.U, Messeplatz 21, Basel voltaartfairs.com/basel
VIP Collectors Preview: Wednesday, 18th June 2025
From Art Basel and the central Messeplatz, Hall 4.U is a 2-minute walk. Cross over Riehenring to the Congress Center and you will see the entrance to VOLTA.
