Paris+ from Art Basel
Paris, France, October 18-22
This October, Art Basel’s newest fair, Paris+, will move along the Seine to the beautiful glass-domed Grand Palais, which will see its four-year renovation completed in the summer. The new venue will allow the fair to increase the size of its stands and increase the number of exhibitors by 25 percent, after holding its first two editions at a reduced size in the temporary Grand Palais Éphémère. Paris+ director Clément Delépine, who previously ran the emerging sector-focused Paris Internationale fair, said the new galleries will be its “center of gravity”.
Since its surprise arrival, ousting the long-running Fiac from its October slot, Paris+ has cemented its place as a regular stop on the busy art fair circuit. This was helped by the pull of the Art Basel brand and the use of the city of lights as a glittering backdrop. Art Basel will continue to collaborate with other industries, such as fashion, to keep VIP collectors engaged beyond the fair halls. And that includes sports, as Paris hosts the Olympics and Paralympics. Details about the collaborations between Art Basel and the Olympics are still under wraps, but judging by the brand’s competitive approach to the fair with its rivals, we can bet it’s going for the gold.
Maco area
Mexico City, Mexico, February 7-11
Zona Maco, the largest art fair in Latin America, will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the sprawling Centro Citibanamex convention center. Along with the main presentation of international galleries, the fair designated special areas to highlight modern art, artists from the Global South or associated with them and works that explore the relationship between pleasure and politics. Last year, Zona Maco hosted more than 200 exhibitors from 29 countries, but with more than half of the galleries in the 2024 edition coming from Mexico, the fair’s success is a testament to the strength of the country’s vibrant art and culture.
Work by Gary Simmons at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Photo: Ricardo Adame
Expo Chicago
Chicago, USA, April 11-14
After celebrating its 10th anniversary last year, Expo Chicago will be in 2024 for its first iteration since being acquired by Frieze, the London-based art giant. Typifying its growth, last year the exhibition brought 170 galleries and more than 32,000 attendees to the Windy City. Expo Chicago has been a long-term leader among the dwindling ranks of large-scale independent art fairs in the United States, and its exhibitors and attendees are waiting to see what changes new ownership will bring to the traditionally no-nonsense event. When the acquisition was announced, Expo Chicago president and director Tony Karman said in a statement that the fair would leverage Frieze’s global reach to strengthen its own impact.
