Observer’s Guide to This Year’s Must-Visit December Art Fairs
Next month wraps the year’s art fair calendar in spectacular fashion, with Miami Art Week absolutely dominating the December art fair calendar and Art Basel (and its star-studded energy) dominating Miami Art Week. That said, the list of Art Basel Miami Beach satellite fairs grows every year—and it’s worth noting that many of those “satellite” fairs have been in Miami a lot longer than the mega fair itself. The lone European fair on our list takes place mid-month, after which art insiders can take a well-deserved (and much-needed) break before the 2025 art fair calendar kicks off.
The contrast between Miami’s unabashed spectacle and the more subdued, strategically focused fairs abroad in other parts of the year may speak to the diverging priorities of the U.S. and international art markets—one thriving on glitz, the other honing in on precision and exclusivity. Don’t mistake the party atmosphere for unseriousness, however. “The fair continues to attract an exceptional volume and quality of private collectors and institutionally affiliated people,” Art Basel Miami Beach director Bridget Finn told Observer earlier this year.
AfriKin Art 2024
December 1-8
As Miami’s only fair dedicated exclusively to contemporary African and African diaspora art by rising and mid-career artists, AfriKin has announced a compelling lineup for this year’s edition, featuring exhibitors from thirty-three countries gathered at AfriKin’s permanent galleries. The 2024 theme, “Threads of Life in Fragments of Time,” serves as both a reflection and a rallying cry, urging us to recognize the delicate balance upon which we all depend and the intricate web of interconnectedness that binds us to the earth and to one another. Showcasing works by individual artists, the presentations weave narratives tied to the central theme, creating an experience more akin to a cohesive group show—though all the works are available for sale.
Art Miami 2024
December 2-7
Miami’s longest-running contemporary and modern art fair is back with 160 international galleries from twenty-one countries presenting a compelling mix of works from the 20th and 21st Centuries. For this milestone edition, Art Miami will welcome seven debut galleries, including Bildhalle (Amsterdam), Blond Contemporary (London), Frascione Gallery (Palm Beach), Gallery UG (Tokyo), Isabel Sullivan Gallery (New York), Jacobson Graphics (London) and Rueb Modern and Contemporary Art (Amsterdam). Other noteworthy exhibitors include Allouche Gallery (New York), Ethan Cohen Gallery (New York), Unix Gallery (New York), Seizan Gallery (New York) and Galleria Ca’ d’Oro (Miami).
CONTEXT Art Miami 2024
December 3-8
CONTEXT Art Miami, the edgier sibling of the long-established and larger Art Miami, has been carving out its own space in the art world since 2012. This year, the fair brings together 75 domestic and international galleries showcasing everything from solo exhibitions to curated projects, offering a stage for cutting-edge talent to mingle with the global collector elite. What CONTEXT offers that some other art fairs don’t is an unpretentious, open atmosphere where galleries, artists and collectors can engage in meaningful, if occasionally chaotic, dialogues—think less gloss and more grit.
Fridge Art Fair 2024
December 3-8
Intentionally more casual and artist-focused, Fridge Art Fair has a welcoming, non-intimidating vibe, and here, affordable pieces are often presented by the creators themselves. Founded only a few years ago, Fridge has established editions in New York and Miami, and this year’s Miami fair will unfold across four venues. These include the anchor venue MINI-FRIDGE at the LGBT Visitor Center (1130 Washington Ave, 1st Floor, Miami Beach), the RAINBOW FRIDGE at Dream South Beach (1111 Collins Ave, Miami Beach), the VINTAGE FRIDGE at Habitat Hyett (441 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach) and the WALK-IN-FRIDGE at The One50 Hotel (150 20th St, Miami Beach). This year’s theme, “Fridge Does Freddie: The Freddie Mercury Project,” celebrates artistic freedom, diversity and the legacy of Freddie Mercury as a cultural icon, with the flamingo standing as a symbol of resilience. The fair will also host dynamic tribute performances and interactive events inspired by Mercury’s energetic stage presence.
Design Miami 2024
December 3-8
Following another successful Paris edition, Design Miami is gearing up for its 20th fair at its historic Miami venue directly across from the convention center. Under the curatorial direction of Glenn Adamson, the fair has chosen the evocative theme “Blue Sky,” which, as Adamson explains in the press release, “presents an opportunity to celebrate Design Miami’s role as a platform for the 21st-century avant-garde—showcasing the very best in contemporary and historical design for two decades. Among the fair’s highlights, Southern Guild (Cape Town/Los Angeles) will showcase contemporary ceramics by twelve African artists; Lamb Gallery (London) will introduce its Curio program, presenting “Magnetic Midnight Maison,” an immersive environment conceived by Lucía Echavarría; and the Future Perfect (New York) will bring 100 new works by over twenty artists and designers, including names like Anina Major, Laurids Gallée, Olivia Cognet, Vikram Goyal and Sophie Lou Jacobsen.
NADA Miami (December 3-6)
December 3-6
This year’s NADA Miami will have a bigger lineup and more international flair, with over 150 galleries, art spaces and nonprofits from thirty-seven countries and sixty-six cities, from Buenos Aires and Shanghai to Lagos, Honolulu and Caracas. The roster of newcomers includes several emerging galleries with sharp, cutting-edge programs from around the globe, such as Sea View, Foreign & Domestic, Eugster II Belgrade, David Peter Francis, Cadet Capela, Alice Amati, Povos and Tokyo’s Gallery COMMON. CAM Galería (Mexico City) will introduce the intricate surrealism of Mexican painter Gonzalo Garcia to American audiences, while Cierra Britton Gallery (New York) is bringing a series of intimate oil paintings by Bre Andy. Gaa Gallery (New York, Cologne) will show wood-framed narratives crafted by Helsinki artist Eetu Sihvonen, whose mysterious scenes captivate, and Gisela Project (New York) will present Brazilian artist Marina Sader’s psychologically charged works that delve into rich symbolic interiors, while Twelve Gates Arts (Philadelphia) will showcase the intimate paintings and ceramics of Pakistani and Brooklyn-based artist Noormah Jamal paired with Kevin Sparkowic’s haunting “broken realism” pieces presented by VARIABLE TERMS (New York). NADA’s “Curated Spotlight” section will be organized by renowned activist curator Jasmine Wahi, who was recently honored by Observer as one of the year’s most influential people in art.
Untitled Art Miami Beach 2024
December 3-7
Returning to its premier beachfront position, Untitled Art’s iconic white tent will host 176 exhibitors for its largest presentation yet. This year, Untitled Art is bridging regions and shining a light on Asia with the theme “East Meets West,” guest curated by Kathy Huang (independent curator and managing director of art advisory and special projects at Jeffrey Deitch) with Jungmin Cho of WHITE NOISE in Seoul. This thematic focus will showcase lesser-known artists from Asia, as well as artists, galleries and nonprofits from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the Asian diaspora. Among the new entries from the East are Loft Art Gallery (Casablanca), SANATORIUM (Istanbul), Vin Gallery (Ho Chi Minh City), Con_ (Tokyo), Neon Parc (Melbourne), Jezca (Bucharest) and MOU PROJECTS (Hong Kong), joined by diaspora-led spaces like Rajiv Menon Contemporary (Los Angeles); LATITUDE (New York), Nunu Fine Art (New York and Taipei) and A.I. (London).
SCOPE Art Show 2024
December 3-8
This year, SCOPE Art Show is returning during Miami Art Week with eighty-five galleries from fifteen countries, including forty-three galleries showing at the fair for the very first time, all under the fresh direction of Hayley River Smith. Hosted in the now iconic Ocean Drive Pavilion, this year’s presentations revolve around the theme of “Interdependence,” highlighting how the fair functions as an ecosystem where galleries, artists, collectors and enthusiasts connect, creating a rare opportunity for global reciprocity. Exhibitors this year will include Amnesty International USA, ArtyliGallery (Johannesburg), B-Ownd (Minato), Claire Oliver Gallery (New York), Form. Paris (Paris), Ki Smith Gallery (New York), Richard Beavers Gallery (New York) and Visionary Projects (New York).
Aqua Art Miami 2024
December 4-8
Aqua Art Miami is set to celebrate its 18th edition at, as always, the adorable—if cramped—Aqua Hotel in South Beach. This year’s fair will feature forty-one galleries from twelve countries bringing works by young, emerging and mid-career artists. Don’t expect blue-chip encounters here in the intimate exhibition rooms that open onto the hotel’s courtyard, but do expect interesting encounters. Fabien Castanier Gallery will present a solo booth of pieces by Portuguese artist ADD FUEL (Diogo Machado), who will also paint a new mural on the façade of the Aqua Hotel. But don’t forget to look down, too. Pop artist Ashley Longshore says she will present an installation of $30,000 in $1 bills on the floor, symbolizing financial independence and defiance against traditional art market norms.
INK MIAMI ART FAIR 2024
December 4-8
INK MIAMI ART FAIR, which is celebrating its 18th anniversary, is unique among the Miami satellite art fairs in that it primarily showcases works on paper. Located in South Beach at the Suites of Dorchester, the fair offers free entry to the public every day, making it an accessible highlight of Miami Art Week. This year’s edition features 15 exhibitors from the United States and abroad, including Dublin’s independent print studio Stone Road Press (Ireland), the renowned three-generations-old printing house Mixografia (Los Angeles) and The Tolman Collection (Tokyo), which specializes in contemporary Japanese graphic art.
Red Dot Miami & Spectrum Miami 2024
December 4-8
As the only two fairs under one roof during Miami Art Week, Red Dot Miami and Spectrum will collectively show over 1,000 artists to an audience of more than 40,000 international visitors and high-net-worth collectors there to interact with the specially curated programming. Spectrum Miami, a curated contemporary art fair in its 14th year held in 150,000 square feet of indoor exhibition space at Mana Wynwood Convention Center, will showcase works brought by more than 200 exhibiting galleries and artists from the Florida region and around the globe. Meanwhile, Red Dot Miami, a curated gallery-only contemporary art fair in its 19th year, will show works brought by 65 modern and contemporary galleries representing over 500 leading contemporary artists from primary and secondary markets throughout the world.
PINTA Miami 2024
December 5-8
One of the few international fairs dedicated to Latin American art, PINTA, founded in 2007, will host its third edition during Miami Art Week at The Hangar in Coconut Grove—a venue with historic significance, as it was the first continental naval air station in the U.S. and once served as the base of operations for Pan Am’s “flying boats.” This year’s fair will feature forty-five galleries showing in multiple sections (Main, RADAR and NEXT), providing a sweeping look at contemporary art production throughout South America. The exhibitor lineup includes gallerieslike Appart Paris (Paris), Beatriz Gil + VAG (Caracas), Departamento 112 (Buenos Aires), Galería El Museo (Bogotá), Sammer Gallery (Miami) and Proyecto H (Mexico City).
Art Basel Miami Beach 2024
December 6-8
This year, Art Basel’s Miami fair will host 283 galleries from thirty-four countries and territories. Nearly two-thirds of exhibitors hail from the Americas, including the United States and Canada, but the fair will also feature voices from Central and South America, including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Uruguay. Notably, the 2024 edition will have the largest cohort of new entry galleries since 2008, with 32 first-time participants. Art Basel Miami Beach’s introduction of a new smaller booth option has created a more accessible and equitable starting point for smaller and younger galleries to secure space in the central section, resulting in 25 more exhibitors at the fair, marking a significant increase in the capacity of the central section compared to past editions. Among the returning exhibitors, Luisa Strina, the longest-running contemporary art gallery in São Paulo, will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a booth paying homage to the gallery’s history, including works by Venice Golden-lion awarded and recently rediscovered artist Anna-Maria Maiolino, among others. Bortolami (New York), James Cohan (New York), kaufmann repetto (Milan, New York), Anton Kern Gallery (New York), Andrew Kreps Gallery (New York) and kurimanzutto (Mexico City, New York), which just recently opened an ambitious new collaborative exhibition space upstate called The Campus, will also return to the fair as veteran exhibitors in Galleries, each bringing works by artists from their respective programs.
Art Antwerp 2024
December 12-15
This year’s Art Antwerp, the fourth edition of this contemporary art fair in Belgium organized by Art Brussels, will bring together more than seventy galleries from twelve countries in Antwerp Expo. Participating galleries include Copperfield, showing the work of Ty Locke, Narges Mohammadi, Ada M. Patterson, David Rickard and Oscar Santillán; Gallery FIFTY ONE with a solo booth of works by Bruno V. Roels; MAGNIN-A, with works by Amadou Sanogo and Ana Silva; Richard Saltoun Gallery, which is showing Ria Verhaeghe; and La Forest Divonne showing pieces by Guy de Malherbe, Jeff Kowatch, Gerard Kuijpers, Tinka Pittoors and Christian Renonciat. One highlight of this year’s program will be the tribute to gallerist Albert Baronian, who will present his final booth at the fair before closing his gallery at the end of the year.
Even more December art fairs in 2024
As always, what’s above doesn’t represent the totality of the December 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 winter art fairs you might want to check out this month.
Prizm 2024 (Miami)
December 3-7
Satellite Art Show 2024
December 4-8
Art Beat Miami 2024
December 4-8
Feria Clandestina 2024
December 5-7