Your Guide to Art Fairs and Auctions in Fall 2024

For much of the art world, September means hitting the ground running. A raft of events kicks things off from the first week of the month, and things don’t properly let up until the New Year.

In addition to the marquee auctions and major art fairs that are set to return en masse, this fall brings several new events to an already crowded calendar. As the (newly coined) saying goes, just when you thought the art world couldn’t get any busier, another art fair pops up.

For those still getting up to speed on what to expect from the art market in the months ahead, fear not, we’ve got you covered. Here, we round up all the major market moments to add to your diaries for the last four months of 2024.

September 2024 art fairs

September starts at a gallop for the art market, which wastes no time in getting going after summer. The ball starts rolling in the first week of the month.

• Seoul Art Week: In South Korea, the third edition of Frieze Seoul gets underway from September 4th–9th at the COEX Exhibition Center in Gangnam. Bringing around 120 international and local galleries, the fair takes place in the same venue as the Korean International Art Fair (KIAF) (September 4th–7th), which features more than 200 exhibitors.
• Armory Week: The beginning of September is also a busy period for the New York art world, where a clutch of fairs are taking place. The Armory Show returns to the Javits Center from September 5th–8th, convening around 235 exhibitors in its second edition under the ownership of Frieze. Elsewhere in the Big Apple, Independent 20th Century and Art on Paper will also get underway from September 5th–8th. Joining the festivities this year is VOLTA New York, which moves from its May slot and takes place from September 4th–8th at Chelsea Industrial.
• Sydney Contemporary: In Australia, meanwhile, Sydney Contemporary will take place at Carriageworks from September 5th–7th with more than 90 galleries.
• Berlin Art Week: Berlin’s annual art week gets underway in the German capital from September 11th–15th. In addition to featuring an array of programming at institutions and galleries, the 13th edition of the event also includes the new “independent exhibition” Suite Berlin. Galleries such as Thaddaeus Ropac, Mendes Wood DM, and Pace Gallery are invited to welcome international artists to a private townhouse, where they will be introduced to the city’s art scene by a local curator, artist, or critic. Also taking place during the week is Positions Berlin Art Fair (September 12th–15th).
• viennacontemporary: In Vienna, viennacontemporary takes place from September 11th–13th, hosting more than 90 exhibitors from 20 countries.
• ArtRio: Another notable art fair also taking place is the 14th edition of ArtRio, from September 13th–17th in Rio de Janeiro’s Marina da Glória.
• British Art Fair: The fair dedicated to modern and contemporary British art returns to the Saatchi Gallery from September 26th–29th.

September 2024 auctions

September will also include a smattering of auctions to keep an eye on.

• The Paul G. Allen Collection at Christie’s: More of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s collection is being sold at Christie’s in 2024 with “Gen One: Innovations from the Paul G. Allen Collection.” This series of three sales begins with “Pushing Boundaries” on September 10th, which includes items that trace scientific and technological achievements, such as a signed letter from Albert Einstein to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Then, the online sale “Firsts: The History of Computing,” which, unsurprisingly, focuses on historical computing artifacts, closes online on September 12th. Also taking place online on the same day—and of most interest to the art world—is “Over the Horizon: Art of the Future.” This third sale features lots by artists who imagined the future and interplanetary travel, such as Chesley Knight Bonestell and George Gibbs.
• Christie’s Hong Kong: In Hong Kong, Christie’s will also host a slate of sales at its new Asia-Pacific headquarters, The Henderson. Sales here include its 20th- and 21st-century evening sale (September 26th), the Au Bak Ling Collection (September 26th), and a couple of day sales on September 27th. Among the highlights from the sales is Claude Monet’s Nymphéas (1897–99). The work carries a high estimate of HK$280 million (US$35 million), making it one of the most valuable artworks by a Western artist to hit the auction block in Asia.
• Sotheby’s September Sales: Sotheby’s—which also opened a new Hong Kong retail store earlier this year—is hosting its modern and contemporary evening auction in the city on September 26th. In London, the auction house will host a sale of works by man-of-the-moment Banksy (September 19th). In New York, on September 27th, the “Contemporary Curated” sale returns. The details of this sale, where it partners with a “guest curator at the forefront of tastemaking,” haven’t been announced yet. But with previous collaborators including Karlie Kloss and Robert Pattinson, it’s really anyone’s guess who they’ll tap.
• Phillips’s September Sales: Phillips—which opened a new Hong Kong office in 2023—will host its now-annual sale of works by David Hockney in London on September 19th, as well as its evening and day editions auction on the same day. On September 23rd, the auction house will hold an online modern and contemporary art sale, and on September 25th, its “New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art” sale will take place in person at its New York saleroom.

October 2024 art fairs

• Atlanta Art Fair: October kicks off with the inaugural Atlanta Art Fair (October 3rd–6th), which brings together 60 exhibitors in what is billed as “a celebration of the dynamic arts community of Atlanta and the greater American South.”
• Art Jakarta: Also new to October is Art Jakarta, which switches from its traditional November slot, hosting 75 Asian galleries from October 4th–7th.
• Frieze Week: Many in the art world will likely find themselves somewhere between the English Channel in the middle of the month. In the U.K., Frieze London will open a “groundbreaking new floorplan” for its 21st iteration (October 9th–13th), with Frieze Masters also debuting a new look. The former houses 160 galleries while the latter hosts 130. Also taking place in London is 1-54, which takes place in Somerset House from October 12th–15th and features 50 exhibitors showing contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
• Paris Art Week: It’s then over to France where Art Basel holds its third edition of its newly named Art Basel Paris. The fair will take place at the newly renovated Grand Palais (not the Grand Palais Éphémère, where it was previously held—watch out when booking your Uber) and will bring 194 galleries from October 16th–20th. Paris will also be home to several other art fairs during the week, with Paris Internationale (October 16th–20th), Design Miami/Paris (October 15th–20th), Asia Now (October 17th–20th), and AKAA Paris (October 18th–20th) all returning. New to the city is the Salon by NADA and The Community (October 17th–20th), which brings the trendy fair to the 10th arrondissement with around 50 galleries taking part.
• Contemporary Istanbul: The Turkish capital’s annual art fair will host its 18th edition from October 23rd–27th, featuring around 85 galleries, primarily from Turkey.
• Art Toronto: Canada’s largest art fair, taking place from October 24th–27th, brings more than 100 galleries to Metro Toronto.
• Art Taipei: The finer details have yet to be announced for Art Taipei, which primarily showcases galleries from Asia and runs from October 25th–28th at the Taipei World Trade Center.
• Art Collaboration Kyoto: The fourth edition of this buzzy fair, in which Japanese exhibitors share booths with invited international galleries, will feature 69 galleries from 19 countries at the ICC Kyoto. It runs from October 31st–November 3rd.
• Artissima: Italy’s premier contemporary art fair welcomes 189 galleries to Turin from October 31st–November 3rd.
• ART X Lagos: The ninth edition of West Africa’s largest art fair will return to the Federal Palace, once again focusing on art from the continent and its diaspora. It runs from October 31st–November 3rd.
• ADAA’s The Art Show: Not content to be left out, New York will also have its annual late fall fair: The Art Show presented by the Art Dealers Association Of America (ADAA). The fair, known for its strong slate of established American galleries, returns to the Park Avenue Armory from October 30th–November 2nd, featuring around 70 exhibitors.

October 2024 auctions

Frieze Week Auctions in London: At auction, all three major houses are expected to run their tentpole London sales during Frieze Week.

• Sotheby’s will host its contemporary evening sale on October 9th followed by a day sale on October 10th.
• Phillips is hosting its modern and contemporary art evening sale on October 10th and its accompanying day sale on October 11th.
• Christie’s, meanwhile, has yet to announce specific dates for its London auctions, but will almost certainly be getting out the rostrum during the week.

Sotheby’s Paris: Sotheby’s will also hold two sales in Paris during Art Basel Paris: “Modernités” on October 17th and “Surrealism and its Legacy” on October 18th.

November 2024 art fairs

One of the quirks of the calendar this year in the art world is that many of the fairs that took place in early November last year are opening their VIP days at the end of October. The result is a calendar that feels lighter than usual on the fair front. We suspect that fair organizers were keen to wrap their events before the U.S. presidential election on November 5th.

• Shanghai Art Week: Following their returns to full-scale capacity last year, Art021 Shanghai Contemporary Art and West Bund Art & Design will take place in Shanghai from November 7th–10th and November 8–10th, respectively.
• Art Cologne: In Germany, Art Cologne returns from November 7th–10th.
• Paris Photo: The esteemed European photography fair Paris Photo will take place in the Grand Palais from November 7th–10th.
• Abu Dhabi Art Fair: And in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi Art Fair takes place from November 20th–24th with more than 90 galleries.

November 2024 auctions

Despite the calendar switch-up in the art fair sphere, November 2024 is expected to remain the month for marquee auctions in New York. Dates for the sales for these sales have yet to be announced at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips. Based on the scheduling last year, we’d advise earmarking the week of November 11th.

December 2024 art fairs