Are you ready to be both shocked and dismayed? I’m here to tell you that summer is already half over. August in the art world can feel like a long, hot, somewhat unpleasant slog toward Frieze Seoul and the Armory Show, not to mention all the other early-autumn art fairs in New York. But wait! Don’t write off summer’s dreariest month just yet. The list of August art fairs is surprisingly long—particularly for those art enthusiasts willing to country hop. If you thought this month would give you a moment to catch your breath after the July art fairs and festivals, think again. The serious art fair enthusiasts of the world have already planned out their 2024 August art fair calendars and are hitting the road to go to some, or even most, of these fairs and fair-ish art events.
Aspen Art Fair
July 29 – August 2
Aspen Art Fair, a brand-new contemporary fair debuting this year at the historic Hotel Jerome, hasn’t attracted much attention yet but as the latest newcomer to the expanding Aspen art scene, it’s sure to make headlines with its lineup of thirty domestic and international exhibitors from more than twelve countries. The full lineup includes Colorado art galleries like Denver’s K Contemporary and Aspen’s Casterline | Goodman Gallery; galleries from New York, L.A. and elsewhere in the States; and more far-flung art spaces like London’s Ronchini, Italian gallery Secci and Galerie Gmurzynska of Zürich. Aspen Art Fair’s program includes an Aspen Art Museum tour with curator Simone Krug, a film screening, panel discussions, dance performances and even—this is very Aspen—a hike. On July 28, there will be a kickoff event at the Arhaus Studio featuring work by multimedia artist Rachel Garrard.
Intersect Aspen Art and Design Fair 2024
July 30 – August 3
Intersect Aspen, an art fair founded in 2010, is a cornerstone of Aspen’s peak art season and summer cultural calendar. Once again at the Aspen Ice Garden, this year’s edition of the fair will feature artworks by over 100 artists displayed by more than thirty galleries—including several contemporary design galleries like Todd Merrill Studio, Mastrangelo and BDDW and some first-timers. This is the first year design will be incorporated into the fair’s curatorial vision and the updated name (Intersect Aspen is now Intersect Aspen Art and Design Fair) reflects a new, broader focus. Art is still number one at Intersect, however, and some of this year’s featured artists include Meghann Riepenhoff, Zaria Forman and Yigal Ozeri. “We strive to create a space for collectors and art enthusiasts to immerse themselves in viewing, acquiring, learning about and discussing the art and continue to be a must-attend event during Aspen’s world-renowned ArtWeek,” said Tim von Gal, CEO of the fair, in a statement.
Uptown Art Fair 2024
August 3-4
Less fair than art festival, Minneapolis’ Uptown Art Fair has a new format this year thanks to major infrastructure work making the usual venue inaccessible. Now billed as DETOUR @ Bachman’s, the event’s 60th anniversary edition features a lineup of 150 artists working in paint, fiber, sculpture and mixed media, along with jewelry artists, ceramicists and other creators. As a concession for those disappointed by the change, Uptown Art Fair’s organizers and the city have put together a lineup of artsy events spanning all of August that include immersive art installations, pop-ups and a public art competition.
Biennale Chianciano 2024
August 3-18
The eighth edition of the Biennale Chianciano in Tuscany presents the work of 150+ selected artists from forty nations in the Museo d’Arte Chianciano Terme and thirteen art galleries located around Medieval Chianciano. This Biennale, which is free and open to the public, showcases the work of contemporary artists chosen via a worldwide open call. Seeing these works displayed in contrast with the local historic architecture and the breathtaking surrounding countryside is an experience. After browsing the Museo d’Arte Chianciano Terme’s Biennale selections and a permanent collection that includes works by Durer and Rembrandt; Munch, Magritte and Guttuso; and the likes of Salvador Dalì, Mario Schifano and Frances Turner. Before you head to the galleries, take a pause with a glass of champagne in the Museo d’Arte Chianciano Terme’s art-filled Picasso Bar.
Whitehawk Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show 2024
August 9-12
The Whitehawk Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show was once several fairs, as Objects of Art Santa Fe and The Antique American Indian Art Show merged to become Objects of Art & American Indian/Tribal Santa Fe in 2022. IAF Indigenous Art Fair Contemporary fits in somehow, but the event has been postponed until further notice according to the Whitehawk website. Nevermind that, as the Whitehawk Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show—a staple of the Santa Fe art scene for more than forty-six years, whatever name you give it—brings together over 127 of the world’s premier experts in this space showing “the best of the best” of modern and historical textile art, folk art, pottery, jewelry, beadwork, woodcarving and more from Native American and other indigenous cultures. Whitehawk bills the fair as an educational experience where one can learn more not only about the art but also the people who created it and the context in which it was created. This year’s special exhibit is “Art of Timeless Beauty, the Navajo Child’s Blanket,” curated by Robert Parsons.
SWISSARTEXPO 2024
August 21-25
In Zurich, SWISSARTEXPO is yet another fair that aims to pair artists and art enthusiasts through lively conversation. (Honestly, we love that so many fairs are trying to strip the lingering veneer of exclusivity from these art world events.) In past years, SWISSARTEXPO has attracted 80,000 visitors per day, there to see more than 100 exhibitors from all over the world displaying art under the sculpture L’ange protecteur by Niki de St.Phalle. This is the fair’s sixth year, and chances are it will have a long life, given its reputation for innovation. Most importantly, this fair is free. But it has also incorporated QR codes into displays, making it easier to find out more information about specific art and artists—and in some cases, to access related audio and video guides. And artists who don’t make it into the fair can still virtually show their work in the main exhibition space via Art Box digital displays.
KUNST/MITTE 2024
August 22-25
The 10th edition of KUNST/MITTE in Magdeburg, Germany, brings together more than sixty exhibitors—a roster that includes not only galleries but also artists and artist collectives. Additionally ten young artists will present their work in the YoungArtistSpace (YAS). There’s admittedly not a ton of exhibition space at this fair, but the organizers manage to pack in an engaging variety of paintings, mixed-media works, sculpture, collages, fine art photographs and installations by artists of all stripes, who are there for the exposure and several prizes. There’s also an extensive supporting program, with free guided tours of the fair, performances and COLLECTOR’S NIGHT, during which exhibitors show one previously unpublished work per booth for the first time ever. A chance to own something entirely new?
art3f Monaco 2024
August 23 -25
Monaco’s international contemporary art fair at Chapiteau de Fontvieille, art3f Monaco, aims to give art and art collecting a “human and warm side” with affordable art presented “without code, without prejudice and uninhibited.” Galleries are certainly present at this August art fair, but many of the 200 artists whose works are on show were handpicked by the fair’s selection committee, and moreover, the artists are actually on site. Enthusiasts and collectors can meet the painters, sculptors, photographers, etc., and hear their stories, fostering a connection between buyer and artist that leads to a “direct exchange and sharing of emotions.” In theory, anyway. It’s a good concept and one that’s attractive to many younger collectors and would-be collectors, but whether it makes art more accessible is up for debate.
SP–Arte Rotas Brazileiras 2024
August 28 – September 1
In São Paulo, Brazil at ARCA, SP–Arte’s Rotas Brazileiras is an art fair laser focused on the art of Brazil and its contexts, historical and otherwise. This year marks the fair’s third edition, which will feature artistic direction by Brazilian curator, editor and art critic Rodrigo Moura, who is also acting chief curator at the Museo del Barrio in New York. Rotas Brazileiras bills itself as a fair of discoveries, whether that means of emerging art world trends or of the influential Brazilian artists you’ve probably never heard of. What you’ll see: curated presentations of hundreds of works mounted by art galleries from across Brazil; institutional presentations that shed light on their collections; special projects designed to promote Brazilian art and support the work of the country’s artists; and a new sector that brings together large-scale paintings, sculpture and installations.
ART021 Hong Kong 2024
August 28 – September 8
Shanghai-based art fair operator ART021—which was founded in 2013 by art collectors Kylie Ying, Bao Yifeng and David Chau— is launching a distributed Hong Kong fair this month, with the inaugural edition taking place across multiple venues (including an outdoor sculpture garden) and not at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre as originally announced. Early reports suggested that there would be just dozens of galleries participating but more recent intel suggests there will be more than seventy exhibitors from thirteen countries helping to kick off not only the fair but also a “Greater Bay Area Art Week.” The main Galleries section will be mounted in the Asia-Pacific headquarters of auction house Phillips, which will devote two floors of its space to the fair. The Expansion section, hosted by the Fringe Club, will have special exhibitions, live performances, forums and other events.
CHART Art Fair 2024
August 29 – September 1
CHART, which takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark’s Kunsthal Charlottenborg, was founded more than a decade ago by five Copenhagen art galleries and has given the region’s contemporary art scene an annual boost ever since. Now in its twelfth edition, this August art fair brings together a roster of established, celebrated Nordic artists exhibited by leading regional galleries and new talent from around the globe. For 2024, CHART has brought back the curated selling exhibition “Start Collecting with CHART,” which is limited to works priced below €2,700 ($3,000) selected by participating galleries. There will also be a public program of artist talks, panel discussions, performances and film screenings focused on New Voices in The Nordics. The associated month-long off-site sculptural exhibition in Tivoli Garden, CHART in Tivoli, is always a highlight, as are the art book and print components of the fair.
Enter Art Fair 2024
August 29 – September 1
Established by Julie Leopold in 2019, Enter Art Fair at Lokomotivværkstedet in Copenhagen is the region’s largest international art fair. This year, it will bring ninety-six galleries from forty-six cities and twenty countries together in what it dubs a “nexus of creative and commercial exchanges.” More than 20,000 art collectors, enthusiasts and professionals are expected to come for the paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, glass, video, photography and digital works by more than 350 artists, as well as the annual Art and Talks Program, which is this year curated by Diana Velasco, and a performance program. A new section, ENTER Digital, will highlight cutting-edge digital art—A.I. art and NFTs are just the beginning.
Affordable Art Fair Melbourne 2024
August 29 – September 1
Since its inception in 1999, Will Ramsay’s Affordable Art Fair has emerged as a beacon for art enthusiasts and collectors alike, democratizing the acquisition of art with its welcoming, inclusive ethos. Affordable Art Fair Melbourne brings Ramsay’s ethos to Australia with a show of original, contemporary artworks by emerging and established artists, all priced up to AUD$10,000 and no higher. On the exhibitor list are galleries from Australia, Asia and even Peru, but you’ll find no U.S. or North American galleries at this edition of this fair that aims to democratize art collecting. New for this year are presentations of work of talented young artists with connections to Melbourne: Olivia Walmsley, Lily-Rose Burgess, Sam Harrison, Kenzopaints, Sibylla ‘Billie’ Robertson and Charli English.
arteba 2024
August 30 – September 1
The Center Costa Salguero in Buenos Aires is hosting this year’s arteba art fair, which will showcase the work of more than 400 artists represented by sixty-five galleries from fifteen different locales. Often incorrectly labeled ArteBA—Usos incorrectos: Arte BA, arte BA, arteBa, arteBA, the fair’s press room proclaims—this August art fair was founded in 1991 by Jacobo Fiterman and nonprofit Fundación arteba as part of efforts to strengthen Buenos Aires’ art market and promote Argentine art. It has since become Argentina’s longest-running and most important modern and contemporary art fair, as well as one of the standout Latin American art fairs, attracting about 100,000 people annually. This year, the exhibitor list was curated by Mora Bacal, director of Ruth Benzacar Art Gallery; independent curators Carla Barbero and Florencia Malbrán; Ricardo Ocampo, director of W-Galería; and Amparo Díscoli, director of COSMOCOSA.
ART-O-RAMA 2024
August 30 – September 1
The first international art fair in the South of France, Marseille’s ART-O-RAMA is produced by Fræme in co-production with La Friche la Belle de Mai. This year, exhibiting galleries were chosen by a selection committee made up of art collector Émilien Chayia and gallerists Marie Madec, Haynes Riley, Joana Roda and Sophie Tappeiner. They built a roster of forty-one galleries from around the world—primarily European galleries, which is unsurprising, but there’s also Chicago’s Good Weather gallery on the roster.
Even more August art fairs in 2024
As always, what’s above doesn’t represent the totality of the August art fair calendar in 2024—there are always plenty of smaller, lesser-known and niche art fairs happening around the world. Here’s a quick roundup of several more art fairs and festivals you might want to check out this month.
ART ANTIQUE Residenz Salzburg 2024
August 10-18
Knokke Art Fair 2024 (Knokke-Heist, Belgium)
August 10-18
Bada Argentina 2024 (Buenos Aires)
August 29 – September 1
Paréidolie 2024 (Marseille)
August 30 – September 1
Pink Art Fair 2024 (Seoul)
August 30 – September 1
Art Formosa 2024 (Taipei)
August 30 – September 1
