The Armory Show 2025 Transforms to Meet ‘Ebbs and Flows’ of the Market
Led by recent director Kyla McMillan, the legacy American fair will take more risks this autumn with a new floor plan, a section aiming to unite art and design, and a spotlight on artists from the Southern United States. Save to My Ocula
The Armory Show will welcome more than 230 exhibitors to its autumn fair with this year’s edition fully led by director Kyla McMillan, who joined after Frieze acquired the event in 2023.
Returning to New York’s Javits Center from 5 to 7 September with a VIP preview on the day prior, the legacy American fair will see programme and structural changes responding to present times and the needs of collectors with a new floor plan, a section aiming to unite art and design, and a spotlight on artists from the South.
In a 2024 interview, McMillan explained her approach to The Armory Show and the historic fair’s broader appeal: ‘The challenge with fairs is that the presentations tend to be more conservative than they might be inside a gallery,’ she said.
‘I always want to encourage risk. I think that’s a big part of the reason why New York is the global art world capital.’
Galleries at this year’s fair include White Cube, Andrew Kreps, Esther Schipper, Victoria Miro, Michael Rosenfeld, and Kasmin.
Among changes, the solo section for single-artist presentations which will feature galleries like Catharine Clark Gallery, SMAC Gallery, and Spinello Projects, will merge with the main section.
A new section, titled Function, will see nine galleries inquiring into how artists ‘engage with and puncture the tenants of design’, organised by Ebony L. Haynes, senior director at David Zwirner and 52 Walker. Participants include Corbett vs. Dempsey, 56 Henry, and Silke Lindner.
The Focus section centering the fair’s history and the Platform section for large-scale work will both spotlight artists from the American South, with the latter organised by Souls Grown Deep, a non-profit dedicated to supporting Black artists from the region.
‘The Armory Show is one of the longest-running fairs in the country, so evolution and adaptability are ingrained in our identity,’ McMillan said.
‘I believe that our fair is foundational, and that means we can be a support and a platform for galleries as they deal with the ebbs and flows of the market.’ —[O]
Main image: The Armory Show, 2024. Courtesy The Armory Show.
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