Fairs have long become essential events in the art market. There are few professionals who are not at major international events. Basel, Frieze, Armory Show, FIAC, Zona Maco or Arco, which begins in Madrid this Wednesday, are some of the fairs that no one wants to miss. It is on these stages that dealers do most of their annual business. According to the Art Basel 2025 report, it represents an average of at least 31% of its income. But there are those who speak of much higher figures, such as Rocío Santa Cruz, director of the homonymous gallery in Barcelona; The director of Arts Libris also raises her turnover to 60% during the fairs she attends, and believes that her case is not exceptional.
Be that as it may, it is clear that gallery owners do everything possible to get closer to collectors from all over the world and try to avoid those crises that do not quite clear their horizon. Since the Cologne fair, considered the oldest, opened its doors in 1967, the business has undergone a radical transformation. From the relative tranquility of exhibiting and selling most of the work in the gallery itself, a leap has been made in which there are few unmarked gaps in the calendar of this type of appointments to travel to.
This jump increased after the financial crisis that broke out in 2007 and led to the closure of many businesses. The subsequent coronavirus crisis, which only worsened the global economic situation, viciously attacked markets as fragile as contemporary art. Those who were able to survive were clear that to continue they had to reinvent themselves and take out all the muscle possible. They saw that fairs could be the best opportunity for economic recovery, both for gallery owners and their artists.
Others, however, decided to pack their bags. This is the case of Michel Mejuto from Bilbao, who chose to organize exhibitions based on his solid catalog of established artists. He understands that when working with emerging or not very well-known creators, the gallerist has the moral obligation to make them known in as many places as possible and, like other colleagues, Mejuto recognizes that they all have a lot at stake financially, because fairs are a double-edged sword.
Lights and shadows
Miguel Marcos, director of the Barcelona gallery that bears his name, has extensive experience participating in international fairs (Art Basel, Art Cologne, Fiac, Art Chicago and Arco since its inception). “Fairs are not just a sales channel, they are the nervous system of the market. And that has lights and shadows. On the one hand, they concentrate a very important part of the annual turnover of many galleries and, on the other hand, this dependence has generated a certain paradox: the fair calendar has been inflated to the point that many galleries work more to pay for fairs than to build solid exhibition projects.” He maintains that an overflowing calendar sets a competitive pace that not everyone can sustain. “They have been beneficial for the market in terms of visibility and business volume, but they have also shifted the center of gravity. Before the gallery was the main space for building careers and stories; today many strategic decisions are made with the fair in mind, not the exhibition,” he says.
Fairs are not only a sales instrument, adds Marcos, they are a strategic positioning asset. “Being or not being in certain fairs defines your place in the ecosystem. But it is also a demanding career, and not all galleries can sustain it. For smaller or emerging galleries, the economic effort is enormous and the risk much greater. A bad edition can seriously affect their stability.”
Astronomical expenses and “decorative” aid
It is difficult to quantify the investment that each professional in Spain allocates to these events. It depends on the place where it is held, the insurance and the type of work, they point out. And the aid they receive is also different, because each Autonomous Community has a criterion and those of the Ministry of Culture are classified as variables.
Alberto de Juan, head of Max Estrella (Madrid), does not consider the option of not traveling to fairs. The last ones he has been to have been Armory Show New York, Miami Basel, Basel Hong Kong, Zona Maco México and ArcoLisboa and now Madrid. “For a long time now, art galleries have become global proposals and the only way to be global is to have a presence in many countries. Gone is the idea of pretending that everyone is going to visit you at your premises. Even the galleries in New York, which is the most important market that exists, organize art fairs.”
Regarding the investment, De Juan explains that the expenses are astronomical and the aid until 2024 “decorative”, since they represented between 1% and 3% of what is invested in going to them. “Fortunately, in 2025 we have received significant help for the first time in this gallery’s 32-year history,” although the amount is not specified.
But these supports do not fix the problem that makes life miserable for Spanish gallery owners: a VAT of 21%. “Honestly, I don’t see a way to survive without doing fairs,” says the gallerist. “The local market is devastated with the absolute contempt on the part of the authorities to rescue it. We bear a VAT that is ridiculously high compared to that of our neighbors, such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy or Portugal. If the Ministry of Finance wants there to be no art in Spain and for Spanish artists to starve, it is doing a magnificent job,” he ironizes.
Mayte and Pilar Castellano, from Madrid’s Formato Comodo, have been participating in international fairs for years. They believe that dissemination is important and that the work of artists must be shown to the world by connecting it with curators and collectors. What both complain about is the inequality in the distribution of aid. In their case, they say that they no longer receive anything from the Community of Madrid and that the Ministry distributes very disparate amounts.
Photography and its difficulties
Rocío Santa Cruz, head of the eponymous gallery specialized in photography and photographic archives, explains that her presence at fairs is mandatory because, unfortunately, “the number of Spanish artists working in the market and in the international art world is very limited, so presence at international fairs is vital to make them known.” He emphasizes that, although sales do not always occur, many times thanks to the presence of the artists on the stands, an international institution can include it in an exhibition or biennial.
Regarding expenses, Santa Cruz specifies that they vary depending on the meters of the exhibition space. On average, in Arco Madrid or Paris Photo they invest about 50,000 euros. They receive help from the Generalitat (15% of the expense involved in participating in Arco Madrid, Paris Photo and Art Paris), and from the Ministry of Culture, which varies each year: it ranges from 4,000 euros – for all the fairs of the year – to the 30,000 euros they received in 2025, an exceptional amount that they do not know if it will be repeated in 2026. Santa Cruz concludes by demanding a VAT reduction to be able to be in the same conditions as the galleries. European: “It is impossible to be selling in Paris with a VAT of 21% when in France it is 4.5%. And it is equally impossible that at ARCO we are competing with European VATs below 10%.”
Special links
Guillermo Carreras, artistic director of CarrerasMugica, in Bilbao, believes that despite the expenses and difficulties, most gallery owners are clear that there is no going back, that their connection to the fairs is unquestionable. “They are necessary at a time when you have the ability to connect with many people, as well as make your artists known and, therefore, present your program in a national or international way.”
Regarding the costs, he acknowledges: “Yes, they are indeed high. Participating in a fair always entails a risk that gallerists must take. One of the main issues in a fair is to connect artists with collectors and from there a relationship is born. A sale is not always going to be made, but at least a connection has already been created that over time who knows where it will end up.”
New appointment: Art Cologne Palma
Fran Reus, gallerist and president of Art Palma Contemporani, is one of the main promoters of the international fair Art Cologne/Palma Mallorca that will be held between April 9 and 12 at the Palacio de Congresos. Reus says that the initiative arises from a shared reflection on the moment the art market is going through and, especially, on the enormous potential of Mallorca and Palma as cultural enclaves.
“After years of participation in national and international fairs, the galleries of the Art Palma Contemporani association detected that there was room for a more careful, selective format focused on quality over quantity. The intention is not to compete in volume with the major events on the international calendar, but to propose a different experience: closer, more specialized and in direct dialogue with the Mediterranean context and the solid cultural ecosystem of the Balearic Islands,” explains the gallerist.
Some 89 galleries from 20 countries and more than 200 artists will participate in this new fair. “We have paid special attention to galleries that have already participated in both Art Cologne and Art Palma Contemporani events, because we wanted to create a bridge between the two. It is not about holding a German fair in Palma or a Spanish fair with an international seal,” says Reus, “but about building a truly hybrid project, with its own identity, where different scenes dialogue under the same standard of excellence.” The will is clear: “To create a solid platform, with a vocation for continuity and sustainable growth, where quality and coherence of the whole prevail.”