Art Basel Paris Puts the City at the Heart of Art
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Art Basel Paris will return to the Grand Palais in October, featuring 211 galleries from 41 countries and regions, alongside an expanded public program that extends into museums, cultural institutions, and public spaces across the French capital.
The fifth edition of the international art fair, led by new director Karim Crippa, will run Oct. 23-25, with preview days Oct. 21-22. An Avant-Première for galleries is scheduled for Oct. 20.
Organizers said the 2026 edition will include 183 galleries in its main Galeries sector, 16 solo presentations in the Emergence sector and 12 historically focused projects in Premise. Of the participating galleries, 64 operate spaces in France.
Thirty-two galleries will participate in Art Basel Paris for the first time, while more than 170 are returning exhibitors. Six galleries that previously participated in Emergence will move into the main Galeries sector.
The fair will also feature a record 12 joint booths involving 24 galleries. More than 30 participating galleries have been operating for less than 10 years, according to organizers.
Premise, a sector devoted to historically focused and research-based projects, will move into the Grand Palais’ Salon Seine this year, providing additional exhibition space.
Art Basel Paris will also expand beyond the Grand Palais through its Public Program, featuring installations, exhibitions and other presentations at locations across Paris.
Participating venues and public spaces include the Petit Palais, Palais d’Iéna, Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Parvis des Droits-de-l’Homme, Beaux-Arts de Paris, Avenue Winston-Churchill, Square Jean Perrin, Place Clemenceau and Jardin de la Nouvelle-France.
The Parvis des Droits-de-l’Homme will participate in the program for the first time. Organizers are also adding a new fair entrance at Square Jean Perrin.
The fair’s Oh La La! program will return for two days, allowing participating galleries to change the works displayed in their booths on Friday and Saturday. French actor Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu will serve as artistic director of the program, which will center on the theme “Myths and Legends.”
The Conversations program will move to the Grand Palais Auditorium for the first time. The program will feature discussions involving artists, museum directors, curators, collectors, and other cultural figures.
The 2026 fair follows an edition that organizers said attracted more than 73,000 visitors in 2025, including representatives from more than 240 museums and foundations.
France remains one of the world’s largest art markets. According to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, art sales in France totaled $4.5 billion in 2025, accounting for 8% of the global market and more than half of European Union art sales by value. The report ranked France as the world’s fourth-largest art market.
This year’s programming will encompass painting, sculpture, installation, photography, performance, literature, dance, film and new media, reflecting both French and international contemporary art practices.
By combining its Grand Palais exhibition with programming throughout Paris, the fair continues an effort to connect its international gallery roster with the city’s museums, cultural institutions and public spaces.
