Expo Chicago in full swing

Expo Chicago is closing out its 2026 run Sunday at Navy Pier after four days that organizers framed as a smaller, more curated edition of the fair. (expochicago.com, navypier.org) The 13th edition opened April 9 and runs through April 12 at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall under new director Kate Sierzputowski and curator Essence Harden. Organizers said the fair presents more than 130 galleries from around the world in a “refined floorplan.” (expochicago.com, press.frieze.com) That exhibitor count is down sharply from 2025, when Expo Chicago said it drew 170 galleries from 36 countries and more than 35,000 visitors. The Sun-Times reported this year’s lineup includes 130 galleries from at least two dozen countries, down from nearly 200 galleries last year. (expochicago.com, chicago.suntimes.com) The change comes after Frieze bought Expo Chicago in 2023 and after founder Tony Karman stepped down as director in May 2025. Sierzputowski told the Sun-Times the 2026 fair was meant to feel “a little bit more intentional.” (expochicago.com, chicago.suntimes.com) This year’s edition leans harder on curated sections and institutional partnerships than on scale alone. Expo Chicago and Frieze said the program includes Focus, curated by Detroit Institute of Arts curator Katie A. Pfohl, Profile, curated by Harden, and a partnership with the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center. (expochicago.com, press.frieze.com) The Obama Center tie-in appears in two sections: “Embodiment,” curated by museum director Louise Bernard, and “Evolution,” an exhibition of archival material tied to the center’s art commissions. Organizers said those presentations are meant to connect the fair to Chicago history, identity and cultural memory ahead of the center’s opening. (expochicago.com, press.frieze.com) Focus, the section for younger galleries, was retitled from Exposure and opened eligibility to galleries 12 years old or younger. Expo Chicago said Pfohl’s 2026 theme, “Gathering of Waters,” links artists from the Mississippi River Basin with work across African, Latin American and Caribbean diasporas. (expochicago.com, press.frieze.com) One of the artists in that section is Sarah Nsikak, whose booth at Sibyl Gallery presents a new installation titled “How could you hold it?” Sibyl Gallery describes Nsikak as a Brooklyn-based textile artist born in 1991. (sibylgallery.com, expochicago.com) Expo Chicago is also keeping its international partnerships in view. Organizers said the fair continues its collaboration with the Galleries Association of Korea with 12 Korean galleries in the 2026 edition. (expochicago.com, press.frieze.com) Tickets for general admission started at $36, according to the fair’s ticket page. By Sunday, the 2026 edition had become a test of whether a leaner Expo Chicago can keep its place as the Midwest’s biggest annual art-market gathering while looking more like a Frieze-run fair. (expochicago.com, chicago.suntimes.com)