Expo Chicago in full swing

Expo Chicago is wrapping its 2026 run at Navy Pier on Sunday after four days that put the city’s biggest contemporary art fair back at the center of Chicago’s spring arts calendar. (expochicago.com, wbez.org) The fair opened April 9 and runs through April 12 at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, with general admission listed at $35 to $40 and three-day passes at $55 to $68. (timeout.com) This year’s edition brought more than 170 galleries from 36 countries, according to event listings, although Expo Chicago’s own January announcement described a smaller, “intentionally scaled” fair with more than 130 galleries in a refined floor plan. (timeout.com, expochicago.com) That smaller scale is part of a management reset under director Kate Sierzputowski, who succeeded founder Tony Karman after he stepped down in May 2025. Expo Chicago says the 2026 fair was designed to deepen engagement for collectors, first-time visitors and regional audiences. (chicago.suntimes.com, expochicago.com) The ownership story changed earlier than the leadership story. Frieze acquired Expo Chicago in 2023, and the 2026 edition is the third fair since that deal. (artfacts.net, chicago.suntimes.com) Expo Chicago started in 2012 as a descendant of Art Chicago, the long-running fair that operated from 1980 to 2011. WBEZ called the current edition the event’s 13th year. (chicago.suntimes.com, wbez.org) The fair floor this year was built around curated sections as much as sales booths. Expo Chicago expanded its partnership with the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center, added “Embodiment” curated by museum director Louise Bernard, and continued “Focus” and “Profile” under curators Katie A. Pfohl and Essence Harden. (expochicago.com, artfacts.net) Expo Chicago also kept its collaboration with the Galleries Association of Korea, presenting 12 Korean galleries inside the fair. The event’s public-facing program included talks, installations and citywide Expo Art Week events such as Art After Hours and South Side Night. (expochicago.com, expochicago.com) One of the works drawing attention was Sarah Nsikak’s installation with Sibyl Gallery in the Focus section. Sibyl Gallery said the Brooklyn artist’s new textile works were presented under the title “How could you hold it?” from April 9 to April 12. (sibylgallery.com, press.frieze.com) Chicago Sun-Times reported that some local dealers viewed the cutback in exhibitors and the removal of booths for nonprofit groups as a “controversial” shift, while organizers argued the tighter layout would produce more sustained attention for galleries and artists. (chicago.suntimes.com) By Sunday evening, the 2026 fair closes with the same bet it opened on: fewer booths, more curation, and a stronger link between Navy Pier and the rest of Chicago’s art week. (expochicago.com, expochicago.com)