Is the Future of Art Fairs Local?

March 13, 2020. Just days before the opening of another edition of SP-Arte, Brazil went into lockdown. Since then, much has returned to normal. But something has changed — perhaps forever. The 2019 Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report revealed striking figures: there were nearly 300 art fairs worldwide, compared with just 55 in 2000. The report also noted the existence of hundreds of smaller regional and local fairs. The art world was experiencing a period of meteoric expansion when COVID-19 brought everything to a halt. Yet fair fatigue — the financial and human toll of an increasingly crowded art fair calendar — was already a topic of discussion in the market before the pandemic.

But if the prevailing mood is now “less is more,” as Mies van der Rohe would have it, one question remains: if galleries are becoming more selective about where they show, who is filling so many fairs? And who is buying at them? Between 2024 and 2025, New York saw significant activity: 72 new galleries opened, 45 closed, and 50 relocated. In other words, despite the challenges facing the sector, the market remains in motion, with a net gain of 27 galleries. According to the Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report, 49% of buyers served at Art Basel were new clients for the participating galleries. Among smaller galleries, that figure reached 60%.

The answer, then, may lie in the renewal of market participants and the strengthening of local and regional circuits. The map does not appear to have shrunk; it is simply being redrawn.

The Future Is Local

Perhaps because of their close relationship with nature and its cycles, chefs were among the first to recognize the complexities of hypermobility. In gastronomy, this awareness is reflected in a strong emphasis on seasonality, sourcing from nearby producers, shorter supply chains, and a cuisine rooted in its local territory.

A similar line of thinking is beginning to emerge in the art market: is it really necessary to transport artworks and teams thousands of miles to establish a gallery’s credibility or find a buyer?

Thiago Gomide, founder of Gomide&Co, points to the consequences of today’s remarkable digital connectivity. The internet and social media were already essential tools for art galleries, of course, but social isolation transformed the mindset, making online shopping part of everyday life. “This doesn’t mean art fairs have lost their purpose, but their dynamics and objectives have changed. Conversations and connections can be established and strengthened very effectively in the digital world. Image quality, for example, is incredible, and collectors can see every detail of an artwork,” the gallerist explains.

In 2025, art fairs accounted for 35% of gallery sales — a significant recovery, though still below the 42% recorded in 2019. “Fairs are still important, but they’re becoming increasingly regional because the numbers often don’t add up,” Thiago says. In the post-pandemic world, despite the growth of digital connectivity, getting around has become more expensive. The costs are financial, including booth fees, transportation, insurance, travel, and accommodation; human, in the time required of gallery teams; environmental, given the constant international movement of people and artworks; and even strategic, since participating in too many fairs can divert energy and resources from a gallery’s own exhibition program. There are many factors to weigh. As a result, many galleries prefer to concentrate their energy and investment on exhibitions and initiatives aimed at their local markets.

There is an important difference between visibility and relevance

— Antonio Almeida, Almeida & Dale

Antonio Almeida, co-founder of Almeida & Dale, reinforces this idea: “We are experiencing a shift in logic. For many years, internationalization was measured by the number of art fairs attended and the extent of a gallery’s geographical reach. Today, the question is no longer how many fairs to participate in, but in which contexts it makes sense to establish a presence. There is an important difference between visibility and relevance.”

In the view of Marco Antonio Lima, founder of Lima Galeria, clients need to understand and connect with the gallery’s program as a whole. For this reason, the artists and exhibitions it presents must work together in a meaningful way. The gallery’s roster is shaped not only by a shared geographical background, but also by a common imaginary and shared ancestry. This was evident in the selection presented at the latest edition of SP-Arte Rotas: the curatorial approach offered a decolonial reading of Surrealism and Magical Realism, bringing together works that suggest the presence of the fantastic in Indigenous and African diasporic cosmologies as a way of being, rather than an escape from reality.

Sales Are a Consequence; Connection Comes First

This does not mean that Lima Galeria is not exploring opportunities in international markets. Fairs in Latin America, Portugal, and Spain are part of Marco Antonio Lima’s strategy, but the primary goal is not necessarily to make direct sales. Rather, the gallery uses these events as a showcase to foster dialogue with institutions. “It is a long process. We first need to attract the attention of museums, and then win over collectors, who closely follow institutional programs,” he explains.

Antonio agrees, emphasizing that art fairs remain essential, but are now just one of many touchpoints within a broader strategy to build relevance and cultivate relationships with collectors, curators, institutions, and other galleries. “The work is ongoing, before, during, and after each fair. The event itself has significant value, but beyond that, we need to be able to turn our presence into projects, exhibitions, institutional acquisitions, and long-term relationships,” he adds.

Expansion stems from the ability to build meaningful connections

— Beta Germano

Let’s Not Rush Things

The Art Basel report itself acknowledges the uncertainty surrounding international trade, and another set of figures stands out. In 2019, galleries participated in an average of two local and two international art fairs, but the two international fairs generated twice the share of sales of their local counterparts: 30% versus 15%. Today, although international fairs remain dominant, local fairs account for more than a third of art fair sales, and that share is expected to grow. Meanwhile, galleries’ overall costs have risen by around 5%, but expenses specifically related to fair participation have increased by 9%, while logistics, packing, and shipping costs have risen by 10%, and travel and accommodation by 6%. Local fairs are not replacing major players such as Art Basel and Frieze, but they are undoubtedly gaining ground as local production is reassessed and they offer a more attractive cost-benefit equation.

After a decade of rapid expansion and the normalization of the initial enthusiasm for the digital world, in-person encounters have regained importance. But presence now means something different. It is no longer about being everywhere, but about understanding where, how, and why to be present. If relevance and reach once seemed almost interchangeable, it is becoming increasingly clear that being in many places does not necessarily mean belonging to them. In this new landscape, expansion stems from the ability to engage and build meaningful connections: to talk, debate, develop audiences, create bridges between artists, collectors, and institutions, and strengthen the art scenes to which one belongs.

Beta Germano holds a degree in Journalism from PUC-Rio and postgraduate qualifications in Fashion Journalism from Senac and Art History from Faap. She spent 11 years writing about culture and lifestyle for Vogue and Casa Vogue. She is co-author, alongside Fran Parente, of Espaços de Trabalho de Artistas Latino-Americanos (Cobogó), editor-in-chief of Bazaar Interiors, and a regular contributor to publications.