Fairs and exhibitions to see
Art fairs, biennials and exhibitions across Europe that are worth the journey for a working artist. Dates, city and what a ticket costs, checked against the organiser.
Get the calls closing next, every other Tuesday.
Biennale Arte 2026 — In Minor Keys
The 61st Venice Art Biennale, curated by Koyo Kouoh, running until 22 November 2026. The one trip on this list that shows you what the field currently thinks it is doing, in a single week.
Manifesta 16 Ruhr
The European nomadic biennial, this edition spread across Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen and Bochum in twelve repurposed post-war church buildings. Free to enter, and closing 4 October 2026.
Paris Internationale 2026
The younger, cheaper satellite to the Paris October week, run by and for emerging galleries. Overlaps Art Basel Paris deliberately, so one trip covers both.
Art Basel Paris 2026
The October Paris fair, three public days at the Grand Palais. The week around it is when the largest number of curators and gallerists are in one city in Europe.
Artissima 2026
Italy's contemporary-only art fair, three days in Turin at the end of October. Weighted towards emerging and research-driven galleries more than the blue-chip fairs.
Art Cologne 2026
The oldest art fair in the world, four days in Cologne in November. Reachable on a day ticket, which makes it one of the cheaper ways to see a lot of galleries at once.
ARCOmadrid 2027
Spain's international art fair, five days at IFEMA in early March, and the main meeting point for the Spanish and Latin American scenes.
Art Brussels 2027
Four days at Brussels Expo in April, a mid-sized fair with a long-standing discovery section for younger galleries and artists.
Supermarket 2027 — Stockholm Independent Art Fair
The artist-run fair: every exhibitor is an initiative, collective or project space rather than a commercial gallery. Worth the trip precisely because it is where unrepresented artists show each other what is possible.
documenta sixteen
The hundred-day exhibition in Kassel, held every five years, directed this edition by Naomi Beckwith. Fourteen months out, which is enough time to plan a trip around it.
Liste Art Fair Basel 2027
The Basel discovery fair, held in the same week as Art Basel and built around young galleries and artists early in their careers. Closer to this calendar's reader than the main fair is.
The ones closing next, in your inbox
Every other Tuesday: three calls closing within the fortnight, what each one pays, who it shuts out, and one thing you can do the same evening to be ready. Unsubscribe in one click.
What gets listed
This calendar is for artists who apply on their own behalf. No assistant, no gallery filing it for them. So we list what such an artist can actually enter, and leave out what she cannot.
Nothing invitation-only or nomination-only. Nothing that requires gallery representation to submit. Nothing restricted to enrolled students. Every listing is checked against the organiser’s own announcement before it appears, and where there is an entry fee the amount is on the card rather than four pages in.
There are aggregators with thousands of entries. This one is shorter on purpose.
Running an open call or a residency programme? Send it to rebecka@samlio.com and it will be checked and listed. There is no charge and no paid placement.