At Future Fair 2026, the Art World's Edges Bloom Inward
Guest at Future Fair. Photo by Keenon P Photography.
The 6th annual Future Fair took place last week at Chelsea Industrial, where it continued to champion innovative relationships between artists and gallerists. The fair featured exhibitions from 69 artists, spanning 9 countries. The VIP Preview night took place on May 13th, and was then open to the public from May 14-16. This iteration in New York was pulsing with excitement, beaming faces spiraling around the booths like eager ants in a beautiful maze.
Rachel Mijares Fick and Rebeca Laliberte, the co-founders of Future Fair share that “While conversations often center on contraction, what we’re experiencing is expansion - new spaces, new voices, and dealers building thoughtful, sustainable programs for their artists. We created Future Fair to support that ecosystem, and this year reflects a platform that has become more focused, collaborative, and intentional in how it supports galleries and artists.”
While the fair’s beginnings were focused on the local art community (tri-state area), now in its 6th year, the Future Fair’s mission is to expand the global standard for curatorial vision, and accessibility to the art world, while maintaining the energetic thought and care of a local art community. This was tangible in the atmosphere on opening night.
Across the wide variety of art exhibited, there was a common tie of colors of dusk and dawn. Muted, blown out mauves and salmon. Dreamscapes with commentary on a collective consciousness. Themes of memory, gender/sexual identities, history, and mythology. Much of the work invited, if not asked for, audience engagement and animated conversation.
Some highlights included Citlali Haro (REM, 2025) represented by Pali Galería (Mexico City), Laura Noguera’s works (such as Equilibrio Frágil, 2025) represented by Policroma Gallery (Medellín), Chris Cortez’s Iluminame, 2025, and Angela Burson’sNight Train (2026).
The interdisciplinary curatorial committee shines as one of the fair’s strengths. Including members with advanced backgrounds in critical writing, grantmaking, and nonprofits, the committee was able to design a program representing evocative and dynamic works.
