EP 122: NYC Art Fair Report: So-So to FOMO

What makes an art fair successful? Sales. Crowds. Fairs that give people a reason to come back. This fall, artist William Powhida, Netvvrk Director of Operations Penny Retica, and I walked New York's fair week to see which ones do that job. We went to the Spring Break in the old CBS News offices, Independent 20th Century, The Armory, and Printed Matter's New York Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1. One of them left us with some serious FOMO. Guest creditsArtist William PowhidaNetvvrk Director of Operations, Penny ReticaArtists/Projects Mentioned:Spring Breakhttps://www.springbreakartshow.com/Kara Sheffler & Joanna Herr, Tiki BarDavid Molesky, Prone to BruiseChristopher Chan & Lindaluz Carillo, Soft BruiseKutay Tufekci, Roselynn Sadaghiani, & Richard Medina in Fool Me Can’t Get Fooled AgainAlice Herbert, HOUSE ARRESTMatthew Cronin, Catalina Tuca, & Joseph Wilcox, Afterimage, curated by Elisa Gutiérrez EriksenIndependent 20th Centuryhttps://www.independenthq.com/General IdeaDavid HammonsJenny HolzerArmoryhttps://www.thearmoryshow.com/Dorian LangbergMichelle GrabnerDarvish FakhrEmbajada GalleryKatarina RiseingAlba TrianaNY Art Book Fairhttps://nyabf2026.printedmatterartbookfairs.org/African Art Book Fair, The Pan African Library Will Not Be ColonizedBook Arts Solidarity Network, MAKEREADYA, Lukas, Stop Hiding Behind MasksPrecious Okoyomon, The Pleasure PrincipleBlack Sheep, Riso Lantern Additional ReadingValentina Di Liscia, "Independent 20th Century, the Mise en Abyme of Art Fairs," Hyperallergic, 2026Anna Kornbluh, Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late Capitalism, Verso, 2024Activating the Transformative Potential of Commons in the Arts Free classIf you want shows beyond your home city, join my free class, How to Get Shows Beyond Your Region, on October 14 at 7 PM EDT. Register here.