Art Basel 2027 - international fair of contemporary art galleries

Art Basel is the annual fair of modern and contemporary art in Basel, Switzerland, where galleries from five continents bring works ranging from modern masters to young artists. It was founded by Basel gallerists in 1970 and is the oldest of the brand's five fairs. According to the organiser, Basel is the main annual gathering of the international art market.

The venue is Messe Basel.

What to see at the Basel art fair

• Unlimited — monumental works too large for a gallery stand.
• Parcours — site-specific works, that is, created for a particular place, in the streets leading from the exhibition centre to the Rhine.
• Galleries: in 2026 Hauser & Wirth, Gagosian, David Zwirner, White Cube, Thaddaeus Ropac and Sprüth Magers.
• Guided tours in several languages, including English, German and French; a tour ticket does not include admission.

How Art Basel 2026 went

According to the organiser's closing report:

• 290 galleries from 43 countries and territories;
• 90,000 visitors from 103 countries across the VIP and public days;
• representatives of more than 270 museums and foundations, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Centre Pompidou and Tate Modern;
• 59 projects in Unlimited and 21 works in Parcours;
• a work by Isa Genzken from Unlimited was bought by a European museum for €1.2 million;
• a record audience for the Conversations talks: 3,600 attendees.

Sales included a 1963 Picasso at Hauser & Wirth (asking price $35 million), a Gerhard Richter for $20 million and a David Hockney at GRAY for $8.5 million.

Who should attend Art Basel in Switzerland

• Collectors and art advisers — to buy from galleries on five continents; there is a VIP programme for them.
• Museums and curators — to find works and artists for collections and exhibitions.
• Art lovers — on the public days the fair is open to ticket holders.

Tickets and entry. The fair opens with two Preview Days, followed by four public days. Tickets are sold online. Children under 12 accompanied by an adult with a ticket enter free.

Conversations and Art Basel Awards

The programme includes the Conversations talks and panels, the Art Basel Awards presented with BOSS, and research on the global art market that Art Basel produces with UBS, the fair's lead partner. The brand's fairs also take place in Hong Kong, Miami Beach, Paris and Doha.