Frieze has introduced new leadership for EXPO CHICAGO, marking a new chapter with the appointments of Kate Sierzputowski as Director and Essence Harden as Curator of EXPO CHICAGO, effective November 6, 2025. These appointments reinforce Frieze’s continued commitment to EXPO CHICAGO as part of its expanding network in the United States. Together, they bring a shared vision shaped by deep engagement with artists and institutions — connecting Chicago’s vibrant local scene to a broader cultural conversation across the Americas.
Alongside changes in leadership, the upcoming edition will introduce a more focused fair with a smaller floorplan, designed to highlight the strongest work and ideas. This refined format reflects EXPO CHICAGO’s evolution emphasizing quality, connection and programming, bringing fresh perspectives to its strategic development.
As Director, Kate will guide EXPO CHICAGO’s overall vision, leading gallery relations, collector engagement, and curatorial initiatives. In the new role of Curator, Essence will support in shaping the fair’s identity across all aspects of the fair, while also curating a section and collaborating on programming. Tony Karman will continue as President of EXPO CHICAGO serving in an advisory capacity.
“Kate Sierzputowski and Essence Harden are united in their commitment to elevate perspectives that will continue to define the fair’s success,”
said Kristell Chadé, Executive Director of Fairs at Frieze.
“Under the leadership of Christine Messineo, Director of Americas, their appointment represents the next generation of Chicago’s art community — highly collaborative and forward-thinking. Their partnership reflects the creative exchange that defines both EXPO CHICAGO and the wider Frieze network.”
Kate has most recently served as Artistic Director of EXPO CHICAGO, where she has been instrumental in championing the next generation of galleries, curators and collectors. Since joining in 2020, she has developed the fair’s curatorial and public programming in which she has brought major curators and institutional leaders to the fair, offering meaningful moments for engagement. In addition, she has led in developing the fair’s EXPOSURE section and managed key gallery relationships that have helped strengthen the fair.
A long-time contributor to Chicago’s arts landscape, she was previously co-director of artist-run space Julius Caesar and was also the Senior Editor at Colossal. She has collaborated on projects with the Tremaine Foundation, Terra Foundation, Hyde Park Art Center, as well as local and national galleries. Kate graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and is frequently featured as a guest lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
“It’s an honor to build on EXPO CHICAGO’s deep connection to the city that inspires it,”
said Kate Sierzputowski.
“Chicago thrives on experimentation and generosity – I’m excited to expand how the fair reflects that creative energy and risk taking, while continuing to position it as a site for bold dialogue and exchange.”
Essence brings strong curatorial experience to EXPO CHICAGO having curated the Focus section at Frieze Los Angeles since 2024 and will continue to do so in 2026. Most recently, she curated Made in LA, 2025, at The Hammer Museum. Essence is a 2025 recipient of the Teiger Foundation research grant, a 2018 recipient of The Creative Capital | Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant and is a 2020 Annenberg Innovation Lab Civic Media Fellow. Essence has curated exhibitions at Southern Guild (Los Angeles), California African American Museum (CAAM), The Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), Art + Practice, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), and Oakland Museum of California, amongst others. She previously served as a Visual Arts Curator at the California African American Museum.
“I’m thrilled to collaborate with EXPO CHICAGO to deepen its longstanding relationships with curators and institutions,”
said Essence Harden.
“At a moment when the arts—and the diasporic communities that build and sustain them—face increasing strictures and precarity, my work with the fair will foreground the civic and collaborative resonance between artists, galleries, and institutions, reflecting the breadth of contemporary practice that defines this moment.”
EXPO CHICAGO will take place April 9th–12th, 2026 at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall @expochicago
