Observer’s February Art Fair Calendar

Mexico City and Los Angeles dominate this month, but globetrotting collectors will find even more fairs in Bologna, Gstaad, Paris and beyond.

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Visitors at Feria Material in 2024 looking at Yvette Mayorga’s work. Photo by Ana Karen Morales. Courtesy of Material

This year’s February art fair calendar looks a lot like last year’s, which is somewhat surprising. There’s still plenty of uncertainty when it comes to the full impact of the L.A. wildfires on artists and arts institutions, but several Los Angeles art fairs have announced they will move forward as planned—among them, the behemoth Frieze and the new small-scale alternative fair Post-Fair (which was until recently Santa Monica Post Office). On Instagram, Felix wrote that the “decision to move forward with the fair is based on dozens of conversations with artists, galleries, collectors, curators and institutions—both inside and outside of Southern California.” Earlier this month, Observer’s Elisa Carollo asked: Even if organizers push forward, who, realistically, would be in the mood to buy art? And given that Santa Monica, the fair’s venue, sits on the edge of this apocalyptic landscape, would collectors from outside L.A. even be willing to make the trip? The founders of SPRING/BREAK Art Show asked those questions and came to a different conclusion, citing “trepidation of collectors and participants to attend either for personal or moral reasons” in a letter, obtained and summarized by Hyperallergic, informing those involved that the February fair would be canceled this year.

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Whether the other L.A. fairs will see attendance drop this year remains to be seen, but Los Angeles isn’t the only notable destination on the February art fair calendar. Before the art world heads to L.A., it’ll venture somewhat further south to Mexico City to see what’s hot and happening at fairs like Feria Material, Salón ACME, QiPO and, of course, ZONAMACO. Beyond that, there are art fairs in Bologna, Gstaad, Paris, London and New York, which means globe-trotting collectors may just have a tough time sticking to a budget with this many art fairs on the calendar.

The February 2025 Art Fairs

1-54 Marrakech 2025

January 30 – February 2

1-54 Marrakech is one of just a few fairs focused on contemporary African art and was established in 2018 as an extension of its London and New York editions that are similarly named after the fifty-four nations that constitute the African continent. Held annually in Marrakech, Morocco, the fair is curated by founder Touria El Glaoui and typically hosts around twenty select galleries featuring a mix of established and emerging artists. 1-54 Marrakech has been much lauded for its emphasis on cultural dialogue and education, offering a series of talks, panels, and artist-led events alongside the exhibition. The fair’s unique setup, distributed between la Mamounia and DaDa, and its granular focus make it a significant event in the international art calendar; its ongoing popularity is a testament to the growing interest in African contemporary art.

ZONAMACO 2025

February 5-9

Founded in 2004, ZONAMACO has been pivotal in the Mexican art scene’s meteoric rise to become a cornerstone of the broader Latin American art world. The Mexico City fair—the largest in Latin America—is actually several fairs: Zélika García initially founded Zona Maco Arte Contemporáneo in 2003, then Salón del Anticuario in 2014 and Zona Maco Foto in 2015. There’s also Zona Maco Diseño, dedicated to furniture, jewelry, textiles and decorative objects, alongside limited editions and historical pieces. ZONAMACO is curated by a team of experts and draws a diverse audience of more than 60,000 collectors, artists, curators and art enthusiasts annually. Last year, while celebrating its 20th anniversary, ZONAMACO drew over 80,000 visitors. This year, under Direlia Lazo’s artistic direction, ZONAMACO 2025 will host 200 galleries from twenty-nine countries across four continents.

An overhead view of a busy art fair.
ZONAMACO in 2022. Courtesy of ZsONAMACO

Affordable Art Fair Brussels 2025

February 5-9

This year, Will Ramsay’s Affordable Art Fair returns to Tour & Taxis in Brussels for its sixteenth edition with a selection of displays mounted by more than eighty-five Belgian and International art galleries showcasing contemporary art for the rest of us. The fair was initially launched in London in 1999 with a mission of democratizing the art market by making contemporary art accessible and affordable to a wider audience. Today, Affordable Art Fair Brussels offers a diverse array of artworks to collectors and art lovers, including paintings, sculpture and photography, with prices capped to ensure the fair actually delivers on its stated goal of art market affordability. While the Affordable Art Fair lineup doesn’t typically feature “celebrity” artists, the fairs have become a significant platform for emerging artists and galleries to gain exposure and connect with new collectors. The fair’s accessible approach has played a key role in changing perceptions about art collecting, making it inclusive and approachable.

Feria Material 2025

February 6-9

Feria Material began as a pop-up showcase of “raw” local talent, but in just a few years, it has cemented itself as a must-visit fair for those hunting for works by emerging artists and forward-thinking galleries. More than just a counterpart to ZONAMACO, it offers a tightly curated, intimate experience that collectors have come to cherish—an incubator for fresh conversations and relentless artistic experimentation. What sets Feria Material apart is its sharp curatorial vision and financial accessibility, with some of the lowest participation fees in the industry, allowing exhibitors—70 this year—to take risks and push boundaries. Now in its 11th edition, the fair returns to Expo Reforma in Mexico City’s buzzing Juárez neighborhood during Mexico City Art Week with a lineup of seventy of the most experimental and dynamic galleries from Mexico and beyond. “From the outset, the intention with Material was always to complement ZONAMACO with another high-quality fair, but one that offers a more intimate and focused experience,” founder Brett W. Schultz told Observer. “The human scale that we offer has been fundamental to ensuring that every exhibitor and visitor feels like they’re part of a meaningful, relevant and coherent conversation.”

Salón ACME 2025

February 6-9

Since its launch in 2013, Salón ACME in Mexico City has become a hot ticket for emerging artists, a proving ground for curators and an unpretentious alternative to the sleek, hyper-commercial gloss of the blue-chip circuit. Built by artists for artists, the usual power structures get rearranged at this fair—galleries don’t dictate the agenda, and collectors don’t call the shots. Instead, a rotating Curatorial Board sifts through open-call submissions, ensuring each year’s main exhibition reflects a dynamic cross-section of fresh new-to-you talent. Six distinct sections ensure every inch of Proyectos Públicos feels fluid and engaging: Estado shines a spotlight on a different Mexican state each year; Bodega delivers a tightly curated group show led by a national or international curator; Patio puts large-scale installations into the central courtyard; Projects showcases galleries, independent spaces and residency programs through focused solo artist presentations; and Sala takes an unexpected literary detour, offering a curated selection of rare books and special publications.

India Art Fair 2025

February 6-9

India Art Fair, held annually in New Delhi, showcases a rich panorama of regional art alongside international works. Since its founding in 2008 by Sunil Gautam, the fair (previously known as India Art Summit) has become a pivotal cultural event in the region, highlighting the vibrant art scene of India and the subcontinent. The fair’s emphasis is squarely on South Asian art, offering a unique insight into the region’s artistic developments and trends. Like many fairs, India Art Fair bills itself as a forum for cultural exchange, with a program of curated walks, talks and interactive workshops that highlight the diversity and vibrancy of the South Asia art scene. Think of it as a critical gateway for understanding and engaging with the world of South Asian art—something more collectors, art professionals and enthusiasts should do.

Intersect Palm Springs 2025

February 12-16

Intersect Palm Springs, founded by the team behind Intersect Aspen and previously known as Art Palm Springs, is a unique art and design fair held annually in the Coachella Valley in California. Attracting over 10,000 visitors annually, this fair stands out for its integration of contemporary art with 20th- and 21st-century design—all set against the backdrop of Palm Springs’ renowned mid-century architecture and beautiful desert landscape. But what truly sets it apart is the more intimate experience it offers art lovers and collectors, with fewer works on view at the Palm Springs Convention Center than one might expect, allowing for deeper engagement between attendees and the art. This fair not only showcases a diverse range of contemporary talent but also emphasizes design, blending art with functional and decorative pieces that invite people to take the time to contemplate living with their art.

The Palm Beach Art Show 2025

February 13-18

The Palm Beach Show, also known as the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, has become one of the most anticipated luxury fairs—and cultural events—in the United States. Known for its overall sophistication, the show juxtaposes genres, periods and movements in engaging ways but never loses its focus on all things high-end. The show attracts an audience of the Who’s Who, with a roster of visitors that includes wealthy collectors, celebrities and art connoisseurs who fall into both camps, but it’s actually a solid destination for those new to art fairs, too, thanks to its speaker series geared toward entry-level collectors.

ArteGenova 2025

February 14-16

Held annually at The Blue Pavilion designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, ArteGenova in the historic port city of Genoa, Italy, has become a fixture of the European art scene since its inaugural fair in 2003. The fair’s picturesque location draws a wide range of visitors, from serious collectors to industry professionals to casual art enthusiasts, and ArteGenova caters to all of them with a diverse array of art forms—not just paintings but also sculpture, graphic arts, mixed media works and more by rising stars and established names like Rosai, Sironi, Burri, Morandi, Boetti, Warhol, Christo, De Pisis, Duchamp, Ligabue, Baj and Hartung. Last year, the fair drew 20,000 visitors to the Jean Nouvel pavilion of the Fiera di Genova, and it’s expected that this year’s 19th edition, which has more than 150 exhibiting galleries confirmed, will attract even more.

LA Art Show 2025

February 19-23

Los Angeles’s largest and longest-running art fair, LA Art Show, may lack some of the other L.A. fairs’ edginess and buzz but is a staple of the Los Angeles art scene. “This is a city where there is no prototype for a collector,” dealer Mihai Nicodim told Observer some years ago, and that hasn’t changed. LA Art Show, which was founded in 1994 and will mount its 30th-anniversary edition this year, is known for its eclectic showcase of modern and contemporary art shown by a mix of high-profile, international galleries and local Los Angeles art spaces that set up shop in the L.A. Convention Center’s South Hall. This year, there are three featured exhibitions: Art in Dongsan is showcasing Steel Che, Coral Gallery is presenting Roberto Vivo and Snisarenko Gallery is bringing “She, Unbroken.”

Felix Art Fair 2025

February 19-23

Felix Art Fair, launched in 2018 by art collector Dean Valentine with art dealers Al Morán and Mills Morán, is yet another must-see Los Angeles art fair. Held in the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the fair has its participating galleries set up in the poolside cabanas and guest rooms—even those that open onto the pool deck—which fosters a casual and relaxed viewing experience. “Felix’s set-up always introduces me to new and exciting artists, which is why it’s an event I attend every year,” art advisor Cynthia Greenwald wrote in Observer in 2024. Typically, Felix accommodates around sixty local, national and international galleries that bring a diverse range of works by contemporary artists.

People hanging around an hotel's pool
Felix Art Fair in 2023. CASEY KELBAUGH

Post-Fair 2025

February 20-22

Post-Fair, formerly Santa Monica Post Office until a surprise eleventh-hour rebrand, picked one hell of a year to mount the pilot edition of its alternative three-day art fair. But the show must apparently go on, as they say, and the fair is set to bring approximately twenty-eight local, national and international galleries and project spaces to the 1930s-era iconic art deco post office at 1248 5th Street in Santa Monica. According to the fair’s website, it aims to “simplify the art fair experience by focusing on solo presentations” arranged in a “relatively low impact, open plan format.” Tickets are just $10 at the door, making this one of the most accessible fairs around.

Frieze Los Angeles 2025

February 20-23

Frieze Los Angeles, which held its inaugural fair in 2019, has quickly become a key event in the international art calendar—one of the many benefits of being part of an art world behemoth. This year’s fair—yes, it’s still on—at Santa Monica Airport under the direction of Christine Messineo will include a dynamic edition of Frieze Projects featuring a specially curated program by Art Production Fund titled “Inside Out,” with site-specific works by Lita Albuquerque, Jackie Amézquita, Claire Chambless, Joel Gaitan, Madeline Hollander, Greg Ito, Ozzie Juarez and Dominique Moody. “Our collaboration with Art Production Fund has been instrumental to Frieze Los Angeles over the past three years, with each edition introducing playful and engaging works by artists who have become part of the cultural lexicon,” Frieze’s director of Americas, Christine Messineo, said in a statement. “We are particularly proud that this initiative has provided many artists the opportunity to create their first large-scale public artworks.”

The Other Art Fair Los Angeles 2025

February 20-23

The Other Art Fair, a pioneering event designed to make discovering emerging artists easier, was first held in London in 2011 by Ryan Stanier. He wanted to empower direct connections between artist and collector, democratizing the art buying experience by making it more accessible and more personal. This year’s edition sees the fair at a new venue—Atwater Village in the artsy side of East L.A., where 140 independent exhibiting artists will show their work, from paintings to large-scale sculptures, murals and participatory installations—and a new spot on the calendar during Los Angeles Art Week. Fair jumpers can rejoice, as the Other Art Fair is offering free reciprocal Saturday and Sunday entry to attendees of Frieze, Felix, L.A. Art Show and Post-Fair. In support of the artists and arts professionals affected by the Los Angeles fires, the Other Art Fair Los Angeles will donate 100 percent of its Friday Late ticket sales and the proceeds from a charitable art sale to the L.A. Arts Community Fire Relief Fund.

Melbourne Art Fair 2025

February 20-23

Established in 1988, the Melbourne Art Fair has become one of Australia’s most important platforms for showcasing the diverse range of contemporary artists and galleries from Oz, New Zealand and the broader Pacific area. Its distinctly regional focus makes it a must-attend fair for art lovers looking to understand and engage with the range of exciting art coming from this part of the world by both established artists and rising stars. While sales at the larger Sydney Contemporary in September tend to outpace those at Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne has long been regarded as Australia’s art capital, and the fair, which takes place in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, bills itself the country’s “most progressive forum for art.” COMA’s two-person presentation promises to be a highlight of the 2025 edition, with new works by Indigenous Australian artist Puuni Brown Nungarrayi alongside South Korean artist Jane Yang D’Haene.

Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2025

February 21-23

Established in 2013, Cape Town Art Fair is the largest art fair in Africa, drawing 30,000 visitors to the Cape Town International Convention Centre annually and billing itself as “the place where the fast-growing African art market and the international art world meet.” With that focus on creating connections, it offers a unique window into the vibrant art scene of the continent while also showcasing global talent. This year’s theme is PLAY, and the 12th edition of the fair will be built around a framework of different definitions of play: “play as action, play your role, play as curiosity, play as the inherent human desire to create.” More than 100 galleries will bring work by more than 500 artists from four continents in the primary exhibition spaces (Main Section, ALT, Editions, Publications and Connect) and three curated sections (Tomorrows/Today, SOLO and Generations). Additionally, the fair supports special projects and inner-city activations to give fairgoers a comprehensive experience of Cape Town’s art scene.

Outsider Art Fair 2025

February 27 – March 2

Established in 1993, Outsider Art Fair (OAF) leans into its distinctiveness, bringing a diverse tapestry of often lesser-known artists, particularly those who operate outside the conventional art education and gallery systems, to New York’s Metropolitan Pavilion. Its focus is on art brut, which can encompass a wide spectrum, from visionary art to street art to folk art, but then again, OAF has also featured works by mainstream contemporary art superstars like KAWS, Cindy Sherman, Julian Schnabel and Laurie Simmons. Still, it’s the place to go for art lovers looking for an unorthodox fair experience with artworks by people with unique stories to share. “Collectors have been increasingly exposed to this type of artwork,” Andrew Edlin, owner of the Outsider Art Fair, told Observer in 2020. “The expansion of OAF has been a factor in that, as well as exhibitions at institutions like the Met. It all shows that outsider art is being recognized in the highest echelons of the establishment.”

A woman in a black blazer and patterned dress stands in front of a large, colorful textile artwork made of woven and tufted fabric, featuring abstract designs in shades of purple, gold, turquoise, orange, and black, with elements resembling windows, a piano keyboard, and a small sculpted face embedded in the fabric, likely part of the Collect Art Fair's contemporary craft exhibition.
Artist Divya Sharma with her work on display at Collect Art Fair 2024. PA

Collect Art Fair 2025

February 28 – March 2

Collect will return to Somerset House for its 21st edition with its usual curated selection of artworks that dare to be tactile—offering ceramics, lacquer, textiles and jewelry that demand to be touched (but, of course, shouldn’t be). With 40 international galleries showcasing over 400 living artists from more than 30 countries, including new entries from South Korea, Japan, Ukraine, South Africa, Greece and Canada, is set to show the world once more that contemporary craft and design deserve a serious place in the global art market. Collect Open—the fair’s platform of works hand-picked by an expert advisor committee—invites individual artists and collectives to push materiality to its conceptual limits and “challenge material, social, political or personal perceptions.” And per usual, the fair’s talks program keeps the conversation buzzing, whether through marquee panels or informal booth-side chats with gallerists and artists.

Even more February art fairs in 2025

Okay, those aren’t really all of the February art fairs—just some of the most prominent. Here’s a quick roundup of several more you might want to check out:

Arte Fiera Bologna 2025

February 7-9

QiPO Art Fair 2025

February 8-11

GSTAAD ART 2025

February 14-16

Spring/Break Art Show Los Angeles 2025

February 18-23

ART CAPITAL 2025 

February 19-22

art KARLSRUHE 2025

February 20-23

NOMAD St. Moritz 2025

February 20-23

Art Fair Philippines 2025

February 21-23

Parallax Art Fair 2025

February 22-23

Art3f Strasbourg 2025

February 28 – March 2

Observer’s February Art Fair Calendar