Top 35 Best High-End International Art Fairs & Events

An ARTS FESTIVAL is a festival that features the arts in a wide sense of the word not just visual arts.

Festivals of visual arts are not to be confused with the commercial art fair. Artists participate in the most important of such festival exhibitions by invitation, and these exhibitions (e.g. the Venice Biennale) are organised by internationally recognized curators chosen by a committee of peers. These international exhibitions must also be distinguished from art fairs, market-oriented gatherings of art dealers and their wares, which have recently emerged as among the most important art-world venues for promoting artists and sales of contemporary art in the present-day super-heated art market.

An ART EXHIBITION is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" (the French word) or "show". In UK English, they are always called "exhibitions" or "shows", and an individual item in the show is an "exhibit".

Such expositions may present pictures, drawings, video, sound, installation, performance, interactive art, new media art or sculptures by individual artists, groups of artists or collections of a specific form of art.

The art works may be presented in museums, art halls, art clubs or private art galleries, or at some place the principal business of which is not the display or sale of art, such as a coffeehouse. An important distinction is noted between those exhibits where some or all of the works are for sale, normally in private art galleries, and those where they are not. Sometimes the event is organized on a specific occasion, like a birthday, anniversary or commemoration.

BIENNALE is Italian for "biennial" or "every other year" and can be used to describe any event that happens every two years. It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions, stemming from the use of the phrase for the Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895. The phrase has since been used for other artistic events, such as the "Biennale de Paris", or even as a portmanteau as with Berlinale (for the Berlin International Film Festival) and Viennale (for Vienna's international film festival). "Biennale" is therefore used as a general term for other recurrent international events (such as triennials, Documenta, Skulptur Projekte Münster).

Art Fair News, Reviews & Resources

• 25 Must-See Museum Shows Beyond the US to Visit This Fall 2023 - "This is a year without a Documenta or a Venice Biennale, or even a Berlin Biennale or a Biennale of Sydney, but the lack of major biennials has left plenty of room for international museums to make up for it with big retrospectives and touted surveys. The trend continues across the globe this fall as institutions ready their marquee exhibitions before a quiet winter."
• A lost astronaut, looted treasure & a hit naked Turk: the 60th Venice Biennale - in pictures - "From the thrice-daily Swan Lake to a tragedy in an asbestos factory, Guardian photographer David Levene went behind the scenes at the ‘Art Olympics’."
• Art Basel Miami Beach 2022: What To Expect At The Fair’s 20th Anniversary - "This year marks Art Basel Miami Beach’s 20th anniversary, and it is set to be the largest edition to date. From December 1 to 3 (by-invitation private viewings are on November 29 and 30), the Miami Beach Convention Center will be home to 282 exhibitors spanning 38 countries and territories. Resounding trends from this year’s selections include: re-thinking historical narratives and perspectives, the power of ideology, textiles, the human form, and violence."
• Art Basel Paris Returns Larger & More French, Than Ever - "The fair will open in a freshly redone space with a new name. ‘In a way, it’s year zero,’ explained Art Basel’s chief executive."
• Art exhibition - Wikipedia.
• Art lovers at Frieze London - in pictures - "Photographer Sarah Lee went to Frieze art fair in Regent’s Park, London, and trained her eye on the people taking in the show."
• artfaircalendar.com
• Arts festival - Wikipedia.
• At Art Basel, a Powerful Jury Controls the Market - The New York Times.
• Frieze art fair returns to South Korea, offering boost to Asia’s art market - "The Frieze art fair returned to South Korea for a second year on Wednesday, with dealers hoping the event would provide a boost for the burgeoning local art market, after economic woes triggered a slump in sales this year."
• How to Build an Art Fair - The New York Times.
• How to Make an Art Fair Part of Your Next Vacation - The New York Times.
• ID-Art mobile app - Interpol - "Our first-ever app, called ID-Art, uses cutting-edge image-recognition software to help identify stolen cultural property, reduce illicit trafficking, and increase the chances of recovering stolen items."
• Leading Art Fairs around the world - MutualArt.com.
• Luxury Investments Around the World Compared - infographic - "Do you enjoy the finer things in life? For many of the world’s wealthy individuals, acquiring luxury goods such as art, fine wine, and watches is a passion. Unlike traditional investments in financial assets, luxury goods can be difficult to value if one does not have an appreciation for their form. A rare painting, for example, does not generate cash flows, meaning its value is truly in the eye of the beholder. To gain some insight into the market for luxury goods, this infographic takes data from Knight Frank’s 2021 Wealth Report to compare the preferences of nine global regions."
• Paris Internationale, a Fair by and for Gallerists, Offers an Appealingly Focused Alternative to FIAC. But Will Sales Follow? - "The emphasis is squarely on creators with solo or duo-artist presentations."
• Paris Is Rising as an Art Market Hub, With Some Way Left to Go - "Sotheby’s opened a new salesroom and international collectors are arriving for the inaugural Art Basel Paris fair. But visiting is one thing; buying is another."
• Purchasing Fine Art Is Increasingly Just a Click Away - The New York Times.
• TEFAF Art Market Report 2019 - "The global art market, with a focus on the US and China."
• The best art of Basel 2022 - "The Basel edition of Art Basel brings the international art world together this week. It features over 200 leading galleries and more than 4,000 artists from five continents. It’s the first Art Basel without masks, without restrictions. There was a buzz, which we’ve only known from pre-pandemic times."
• Top 50 Art Fairs in the U.S. - Artsy Shark.
• Venice Biennale 2022: Highlights From The Olympics Of The Art World - "The Venice Biennale, often described as the Olympics of the art world, can be a gruelling experience as there’s so much to see and experience. This year’s main exhibition features 213 artists from 58 countries, alone. There are also two other venues, the Giardini and the Arsenale, as well as countless offsite venues, official and unofficial. This year’s biennale is heavily female focused with 90% female artists in the main exhibition. And the artistic director of the 2022 biennale is Cecilia Alemani, curator of New York’s Highline contemporary art project. Golden Lion winners were just announced as American artist Simone Leigh for her brilliant sculpture in the Arsenale and Sonia Boyce’s UK pavilion."
• Visiting Venice this summer? Here's the best art on show at the Venice Biennale - "If you're planning on being one of the millions of visitors flooding into Venice this summer and you're looking for an alternative way to enjoy the floating city, why not tour it with art as your guide?"
• What to see at the 2024 Venice Biennale - "This week sees the opening of the Venice Biennale, an 8-month-long festival of art and culture staged every other year. With the main event running from April 20 to November 24 2024, here’s our pick of what to see if you’re headed to Venice."
• Which International Art Fairs Have the Highest Attendance? - ARTnews.
• World’s 10 Best Art Fairs - since 1936. "Fodor's Travel Guide.
• World’s Most Prestigious Art Exhibition Is Over. Maybe Forever - "The German mega-show Documenta closes this weekend. Whatever comes next, it will never be what it was before."

Top 35 High-End International Art Fairs & Events

• Abu Dhabi Art - since 2007. "Abu Dhabi Art expands beyond the notion of a traditional art fair in placing emphasis on a diverse public engagement programme, including art installations and exhibitions, talks and events, that take place in different locations throughout the year. The culmination of this year-long programme is the Abu Dhabi Art event in November, which provides an important sales platform for participating galleries whilst also offering these galleries an opportunity to showcase ambitious installations and site-specific works by their artists to a wide audience."
• Affordable Art Fair - since 1999. International, contemporary art fair held in different cities around the world.
• ARCO Madrid - International Contemporary Art Fair. Since 1982. One of Europe's leading and popular art fairs. In addition to the exhibiting galleries, a series of lectures and specially focused exhibitions take place. Madrid, Spain.
• ARS ELECTRONICA - since 1979. Based in Linz, Austria and founded in 1979. Festival for art, technology and society.
• ART | BASEL - since 1970. "Our Basel fair brings the international artworld together. It features over 200 leading galleries and more than 4,000 artists from five continents. Many high-quality exhibitions take place concurrently in and around Basel, creating a region-wide art week."
• Art Basel | Hong Kong - the newest Art Basel show. With half of the participating galleries coming from Asia and Asia-Pacific, Art Basel in Hong Kong assumes a significant role in the international artworld, providing a portal to the region's artists. The new show gives galleries from around the world a platform in Asia to demonstrate the way they work with artists, and bring their highest quality work to Hong Kong.
• Art Basel | Miami Beach - since 2002. "In our American show, leading galleries from five continents show significant works by masters of Modern and contemporary art, as well as the new generation of emerging stars." The favorite winter meeting place for the international artworld. At the nexus of North America and Latin America, this Art Basel show presents artwork from across the globe. Over 250 of the world's leading galleries participate, drawing over 70,000 visitors each year.
• Art Basel Paris - "Art Basel Paris 2024 - Discover the world-famous and prestigious galleries and artists. Exclusive tickets online. The leading international art fair in the heart of Paris featuring 194 Premier galleries." October 18-20, 2024.
• Art Cologne - "As the oldest art fair in the world, ART COLOGNE is the most important industry meeting point for galleries and institutions in Germany and has been an occasion for generations of art collectors to discover, collect, exchange ideas and establish new contacts." ART COLOGNE takes place from 16-20 November 2022.
• ART DUBAI - since 2006. The leading international art fair in the MENASA (Middle East/North Africa/South Asia), has become a cornerstone of the region’s booming contemporary art community.
• Art Monaco - "Where Art Meets Glamour." Monaco's Premier Art Event. International modern & contemporary art fair. The international art fair that brings together art collectors, galleries & art lovers from all over the world. Venue: Espace Fontvieille, SAM Monte-Carlo Festivals, 5 Avenue des Ligures.
• Art Palm Beach - since 1997. "It is the oldest and largest art fair in the Palm Beaches dedicated to contemporary, emerging, and modern works of art from the 20th and 21st centuries."
• Art Rio - "ArtRio is the main endeavor of BEX, producer of cultural events specialized in the visual arts. BEX was founded in 2009, by Brenda Valansi, Elisangela Valadares, Alexandre Accioly dissemination and distribution of Brazilian art within and beyond Brazil’s borders."
• artissima - "Artissima is Italy’s most important contemporary art fair. Since its establishment in 1994, it has combined the presence of an international market with a focus on experimentation and research. Nearly two hundred galleries from around the world participate every year. In addition to the fair, Artissima is also composed of four art sections, headed by a board of international curators and museum directors, devoted to emerging artists, drawings and rediscovering the great pioneers of contemporary art, and to the sound projects (new section)."
• BIENNALE ARTE 2024 | 60th VENICE BIENNALE - since 1895. Major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years (in odd years) in Venice, Italy. The first Biennale was held in 1895. The 60th International Art Exhibition will take place from Saturday 20 April to Sunday 24 November, 2024 (pre-opening on April 17, 18 and 19), curated by Adriano Pedrosa.
• Copenhagen Art Week - since 2013. Focuses on the best on Denmark’s art scene, and the quality of its art institutions and galleries.
• documenta - since 1955. Exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany.
• FIAC | Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain - since 1974. One of the world's foremost contemporary-art events. Venue: Grand Palais, 3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France.
• FRIEZE ART FAIR London - since 2003. One of the world's leading contemporary art fairs, taking place each October in Regent's Park, London, U.K.
• FRIEZE ART FAIR New York - since 2012. "Discover the world's leading contemporary and modern galleries." View and buy art from more than 1,000 of today’s leading artists and experience a curated program of talks, performance and new artist commissions-
• India Art Fair - since 2008. South Asia’s leading art fair for modern and contemporary art from across the world. New Delhi, India.
• Istanbul Biennial - contemporary art exhibition, held every two years in Istanbul, Turkey, since 1987.
• 58th LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2019 - since 1895. Major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years (in odd years) in Venice, Italy. The first Biennale was held in 1895. From 11th May to 24th November 2019.
• Masterpiece London art fair - since 2010. "Masterpiece London (27 June - 03 July 2019) is the unmissable art fair at which visitors can view and buy the finest works of art, design, furniture and jewellery - from antiquity to the present day. The Fair offers an unparalleled opportunity for new and established collectors to discover exceptional works for sale across a range of price points from over 150 international exhibitors and across every major market discipline."
• 4th edition MONACO ART WEEK (MAW) - since 2018. L’association est née au printemps 2018, avec un parcours artistique MAW en galeries et maisons de vente, réparti sur différents quartiers de la Principauté - Condamine, Monte-Carlo, Larvotto. Ce format permet de faciliter l’accès à aux expositions, en encourageant chacun à explorer le paysage culturel monégasque, tout en complétant une offre culturelle particulièrement dense en cette période. July 12-17, 2022.
• Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary - "PBM+C will provide a fresh opportunity to acquire important never-before-exhibited works from both the primary and secondary markets in an intimate light."
• Paris Internationale - since 2015. Gallery initiated contemporary art fair held within a hotel particulier in the heart of Paris.
• PARIS PHOTO | Foire internationale de photographie d'art - since 1997. The largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium and is held each November at the historic Grand Palais in Paris.
• Rencontres d'Arles - since 1970. (Formerly called Les Rencontres internationales de la photographie d'Arles) is an annual summer photography festival founded in 1970 by the Arles photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historian Jean-Maurice Rouquette.
• Salon Point Art Monaco - Sporting d'Hiver, Place du Casino, Monte-Carlo, MC 98000 Monaco.
• Scope Art Show - since 2000. "With over 50 art shows spanning more than a decade, SCOPE has solidified its position as the premier showcase for international emerging contemporary art and multi-disciplinary creative programming. SCOPE’s extensive reach enables an unrivaled opportunity for networking with art patrons, creative professionals and a culturally relevant public audience. Renowned for presenting the most innovative galleries, artists and curators, SCOPE Art Shows in Miami, Basel, New York, London and the Hamptons have garnered extensive critical acclaim, with sales of over $700 million and attendance of over 1,000,000 visitors."
• TEFAF MAASTRICHT | The European Fine Art Fair - "Established in 1988, TEFAF is widely regarded as the world’s pre-eminent organization of fine art, antiques, and design. TEFAF runs three Fairs internationally - TEFAF Maastricht, which covers 7,000 years of art history; TEFAF New York Spring, focused on modern and contemporary art & design; and TEFAF New York Fall, covering fine and decorative art from antiquity to 1920. TEFAF champions the finest quality art from across the ages by creating a community of the world’s top art dealers and experts to inspire lovers and buyers of art everywhere."
• The Armory Show - since 2000. "Staged on Piers 92 & 94, The Armory Show features leading international galleries, innovative artist commissions, and dynamic public programs." Leading international contemporary and modern art fair and one of the most important annual art events in New York, takes place every March on Piers 92 & 94 in central Manhattan. The Armory Show is devoted to showcasing the most important artworks of the 20th and 21st centuries.
• 60th VENICE BIENNALE | BIENNALE ARTE 2024 - since 1895. Major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years (in odd years) in Venice, Italy. The first Biennale was held in 1895. The 60th International Art Exhibition will take place from Saturday 20 April to Sunday 24 November, 2024 (pre-opening on April 17, 18 and 19), curated by Adriano Pedrosa.
• Volta - since 2005. Basel's renowned platform for presenting the vision of contemporary art galleries of global prestige whose artists represent new and relevant positions for curators and collectors alike. Basel, Switzerland.
• Volta NY - since 2008. Invitational show of emerging solo artists’ projects and the American incarnation of the successful young fair founded in Basel. SoHo, New York, U.S.A.