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 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.
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/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.
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.
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.
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.
In December, much of the art world flocks to Florida for Miami Art Week, which will include its usual host of fairs.
- The week gets underway this year with multiple fairs opening on December 3rd: UNTITLED Art Miami Beach (running until December 8th), Art Miami (running until December 8th), Design Miami (running until December 8th), and NADA Miami (running until December 7th).
- The following day, on December 4th, Art Basel Miami Beach—the largest fair in the Western Hemisphere—opens with 283 galleries. The fair will be the first edition under the directorship of Bridget Finn, formerly of the tastemaking Detroit gallery Reyes | Finn.
- Other fairs taking place in Miami during the period include CONTEXT Art Miami (December 3rd–10th), Scope Art Show (December 3rd–10th), and Spectrum Miami (December 4th–9th).
For those in Europe, Art Antwerp takes place from December 12th–15th, bringing more than 70 galleries from 12 countries to the genteel Belgian city.
