An atmosphere of great optimism and participation filled the 33rd edition of the Artissima International Fair of Contemporary Art in Torino. Directed for the fifth year by Luigi Fassi, Artissima confirmed its model in which research, market and international relations grow together. Once again, collectors, curators and museums from all over the world made Torino a European and global gathering point for different markets and geographical areas. Four days of discoveries and new encounters, which reinforced the function of the fair as an indispensable platform of cultural diplomacy. «A fair should not simply respond to existing demand. It can contribute to shape that demand», says Luigi Fassi.
THIS EDITION ARTISTIC PROPOSAL AND THEME
Artissima 2026. Georgina Starr, performance Static Steps (Alma Pearl gallery, London). Photo: © Perottino-Piva-Castellano-
The seven sections – Main Section, New Entries, Monologue/Dialogue, Art Editions, Present Future, Back to the Future and Disegni – made space for novel and experimental proposals, from emerging research to already acclaimed artistic practices. The 66 monographic projects enabled deeper exploration of individual languages and paths, confirming the fair’s accent on high-quality presentations. The theme for 2026, Fancy: A Flexible, Acrobatic Body, took its cue from an image theorized by the philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum: fancy as the ability to look beyond one’s own vantage point, to cross through differences and complexities and to imagine possibilities not yet realized. A perspective that attributes to art a public dimension, capable of nurturing and enriching the democratic institutions of a community.
THE NUMBERS OF ARTISSIMA 2026
Artissima 2026. Bremond Capela gallery, Paris. Photo: © Perottino-Piva-Castellano-
During the four days of the fair, Artissima welcomed the participation of: over 34,000 attendees, including guests, visitors and sector professionals and 183 galleries, of which 37 were on hand for the event for the first time. There were 66 monographic projects, 12 prizes, honours and grants, 1 acquisition fund, 1 special mention.
The galleries taking part came from 35 countries and 4 continents: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, South Korea, Croatia, Cuba, United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Japan, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, United States, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Hungary and Uruguay.
THE ACQUISITIONS FUND AND THE PRIZES
Thomas Hirschhorn, Ex-Voto-Tombola (from the series POST), 2025 (Alfonso Artiaco, Napoli).
Fondazione Arte CRT confirmed the presence of its Acquisitions Fund, with a sum of 300,000 euros to benefit the collections of GAM – Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino and Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, thus reinforcing the public heritage and the relationship between the fair and the museum institutions of Torino. Acquisitions were completed for 15 works by 11 artists: Michel Auder (Fonti, Napoli), Juliana Frontin (Yehudi Hollander-Pappi, Sao Paulo), Renata Lucas (A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro), Hu Yun (A+ WORKS OF ART, Kuala Lumpur), Akram Zaatari (Thomas Dane Gallery, London and Napoli) for the permanent collection of Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art; Rossella Biscotti (mor charpentier, Paris), Flavio Favelli (Studio SALES, Roma), Linda Fregni Nagler (Monica De Cardenas, Milano, Zuoz), Dora Garcia (LAVERONICA, Modica); Thomas Hirschhorn (Alfonso Artiaco, Napoli), Boris Mikhailov (Guido Costa Projects, Torino), for the collection of GAM – Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino.
ILLY PRESENT FUTURE PRIZE, assigned to Juliana Frontin, presented by the gallery Yehudi Hollander-Pappi, Sao Paulo.
SELETTI WONDER AWARD, assigned to Vadim Fishkin, presented by the gallery Gregor Podnar, Vienna.
ORLANE PER L’ARTE PRIZE, assigned to Lehmann gallery, Porto.
ARCHIVORUM UNWRITTEN AWARD, assigned to Ben Stanwix and Xhanti Zwelendaba, presented by the gallery Reservoir, Cape Town.
DIANA BRACCO – IMPRENDITRICI AD ARTE PRIZE, assigned to Martina Simeti, founder and director of Martina Simeti Gallery, Milano.
OELLE – MEDITERRANEO ANTICO PRIZE, assigned to Sofía Salazar Rosales, presented by the gallery ChertLüdde, Berlin.
PISTA 500 PRIZE, assigned to Paz Errázuriz, presented by the gallery mor charpentier, Paris and Bogotà.
“AD OCCHI CHIUSI…” PRIZE, assigned to Hu Yun, presented by the gallery A+ WORKS OF ART, Kuala Lumpur.
ARTISSIMA NEW ENTRIES FUND; the selected galleries are: WHOISPOLA, Warsaw; Lutnița, Chișinău, and Clauda, Prague.
TOSETTI VALUE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD, assigned to Ruth Beraha, presented by the gallery Ncontemporary, Milano and Venezia; with a special mention and the acquisition of the work by Gabriel Ribeiro, presented by the gallery Foco, Lisbon.
MATTEO VIGLIETTA AWARD, assigned to Gamze Palabiyik, presented by the gallery VON&VON, Nuremberg, with acquisition of the work.
ETTORE AND INES FICO PRIZE, assigned to Fabrizio Prevedello, with the acquisition of two works: one from the gallery z2o Sara Zanin, Roma, the other from the gallery Cardelli & Fontana, Sarzana.
THE INTERNATIONAL CURATORS’ MENTIONS
Artissima 2026. The international curators of the project The Curators’ Choice. Photo: © Perottino-Piva-Castellano-
The first edition of The Curators’ Choice – a program supported by Fondazione Arte CRT – assigned special mentions to: IMPORT EXPORT & eastcontemporary, selected by Annette Amberg; Kodlcontemporary, selected by Maria Arusoo; Lehmann gallery, selected by Branka Benčić and by Tominga O’Donnell; Marli Matsumoto, selected by Carina Bukuts; Yehudi Hollander-Pappi, selected by Irene Calderoni and Luca Lo Pinto; Alma Pearl, selected by Marianne Dobner; Galleria Fonti, selected by Tom Engels; Aspekty Gallery, selected by Yana Foqué; Richard Saltoun, selected by Inês Grosso; Banda municipal, selected by Fanny Gonella; A+ WORKS OF ART, selected by Hélène Guenin and Robert Leckie; Vanguard Gallery, selected by Lekha Hileman Waitoller; Layr with a special mention to AkNC, selected by Beatrice Hilke; AV17 Gallery, selected by Tevž Logar; Whoispola, selected by Anni Venäläinen.
HIGHLIGHTS
Artissima 2026. DGCC Ministry of Culture, MIRA space: performance Posso sentire ciò che ancora non riesco a vedere, Polisonum. Photo: © Perottino-Piva-Castellano-
Artissima hosted a variegated program of special projects, implemented inside the fair and in the city, in collaboration with outstanding partners and prestigious cultural institutions. A detailed itinerary that invited visitors to explore new perspectives and to rethink the boundaries of contemporary art.
In the fair: Intesa Sanpaolo offered a preview of the exhibition by Massimo Vitali slated for 2027 at Gallerie d’Italia – Torino. Artissima Junior, in collaboration with Juventus, welcomed the youngest visitors to take part in a workshop conducted by the artist Francis Offman (Galleria P420) while MADE IN, in collaboration with Camera di commercio di Torino, presented the works produced in four art residencies inside companies based in the territory. Publishing, talks and critical thinking joined forces in WoW – Worlds of Words, and the poetry of Laura Accerboni established dialogue with six Torino-based artists in Moltitudini, an interdisciplinary residency project sponsored by Fondazione Compagnia San Paolo. anonymous art project brought three research projects by Japanese artists. A stand was provided for the project by Oscar Piattella Il respiro della luce, with the Città di Torino and the Ministry of Culture. Edoardo Piermattei transformed the VIP Lounge with Delizie, thanks to the support of Krumiri Rossi 1878 and the in-kind collaboration of Magnetti Building and Celeste Italia. The DGCC of the Ministry of Culture presented a stand to delve into the activities of international promotion of Italian art, and a space devoted to MIRA – Mediterranean Institute for Research and Arts, with an installation by the group Polisonum.
Initiatives with partners were also on view: the PASTIS SOCIAL CLUB, a live space with a focus on the collection of Fondazione Arte CRT; Jaguar unveiled the new Jaguar Type 01, as it has never been seen before; In Case of Anything, the suspended hall of the Oval, formerly a cabin for Olympic judges, was enlivened by K-way; The Radiant Van, the project for Luci d’Artista created by the trio CANEMORTO; the editorial offices of Il Giornale dell’arte and the Telegiornale dell’Arte.
Artissima 2026. Hedda Roman. I Left Something in the Woods. Photo: © Nicolò Campo/ Artissima.
Around the city: Gallerie d’Italia – Torino hosted the exhibition of artists’ films and videos No Future, curated by Alice Motard. The former Zoo of Parco Michelotti featured the screening of the film by Hedda Roman (Sies + Höke gallery) I Left Something in the Woods, while the ballroom of Hotel Principi di Piemonte welcomed a sculpture by Franco Mazzucchelli (ChertLüdde gallery). On the Pista 500 of Pinacoteca Agnelli, visitors saw the presentation of Vehicles, the new work by Iris Touliatou (gallery Sylvia Kouvali), winner of the Pista 500 Prize in 2025, while Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo presented …POP/ CRASH/(LOON), the first solo show in Italy by Louis Morlæ (gallery Rose Easton), winner of the Premio illy Present Future in 2025. The C2C Festival presented the installation FENOMENO by Davide Sgambaro (gallery FuoriCampo), and the project Il Respiro della Luce with the glass apse by Oscar Piattella at the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Salute entered the circuit Luminarie of Luci d’Artista.
Artissima 2026. Franco Mazzucchelli. Photo: © Perottino-Piva-Castellano-
STAY TUNED!
Thanks to all our exhibitors and partners.
The 34th edition of Artissima looks forward to seeing you in 2027!
In the meantime, to continue to enjoy the contemporary art seen in the fair, don’t forget to:
⏵ explore the online catalogue with the works of all our exhibitors;
⏵ listen to the AudioGuides (supported by Lauretana and powered by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo), discovering the artists and works of Artissima 2026;
⏵ follow us at the start of 2027 for the publication of the videos of Walkie Talkies, the project of roaming conversations inside the fair, including: Defne Ayas, Giampaolo Bianconi, Justas Janauskas, Adomas Narkevičius, François Quintin, Beatrix Ruf, Billy Tang, Salma Tuqan, Leonardo Bigazzi (curator of the project for 2026).
Walkie Talkies 2026. Defne Ayas (Director, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven), Leonardo Bigazzi (Curator Fondazione In Between Art Film and Lo schermo dell’arte) and Beatrix Ruf (Director, Hartwig Art Foundation, Amsterdam). Photo: © Perottino-Piva-Castellano-
