Not-for-profit Powerhouse Arts introduces CONDUCTOR, an art fair that centers on preeminent artistic talent from the Global Majority.
Presenting individual artists and galleries from across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Oceania and Indigenous Nations around the globe, CONDUCTOR seeks to deepen ties with these regions of the world, providing an inclusive and accessible platform for cultural exchange and expanding opportunities for artists and their galleries to grow and develop their markets in New York.
In speaking about the thematic focus of the fair, CONDUCTOR Curatorial Director, Adriana Farietta states, “We are dedicated to showcasing individual artists and galleries from the global majority— regions that represent 85% of the world’s population. In today’s political climate, this focus is more vital than ever. Through this lens, we aim to offer visitors a distinctive perspective on contemporary art, encouraging engagement with pressing issues and culturally significant themes.”
In speaking about the implications of the fair on the international arts community, Powerhouse Arts President Eric Shiner adds, “We recognize that many artists and their galleries often aren’t able to participate in New York art fairs for a variety of reasons, including shipping costs, travel expenses, and connectivity to the art fair system. We started CONDUCTOR to lower barriers to entry and to build a runway for artists and galleries in Global Majority regions of the world to be able to come to New York and connect with the arts ecosystem here in wholly new ways. Not only do collectors have access to art from these regions, but so too do New York galleries and art fairs now have a mechanism for connecting with artists and galleries from these regions that might otherwise not have had a platform to do so.”
The fair will debut in 2026 at Powerhouse Arts in Gowanus and stands to distinguish itself within the market in several unique ways. CONDUCTOR seeks to reduce barriers to entry by focusing squarely on young galleries and individual artists representing the Global Majority. The intent is to keep booth fees low, in some cases welcoming collaborative booths or inviting individual artists to exhibit, and therefore offering emerging collectors opportunities to connect with galleries that may otherwise not have an opportunity to otherwise participate in a major art fair in New York.
Further, the fair’s presenting entity, Powerhouse Arts, is uniquely positioned to fabricate art work for participants in all of the organization’s art fabrication shops, making it easy for artists from around the world to make ceramics, prints, sculpture and other works here in New York City. This contributes to lower administrative and production costs as it takes shipping out of the equation and yields artists new bodies of work or editioned series to be offered at approachable price points to a broad collecting audience.
Ahead of the full-scale debut of the fair in 2026, Powerhouse Arts will host a soft launch of CONDUCTOR in the format of a curated preview in 2025.
An invitation-only opening reception will take place from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The preview remains on view to the public from Thursday, May 8, through Sunday, May 11, 2025. Reserve your free timed-ticket entries HERE.
The CONDUCTOR VIP preview includes participation from ascendant global talent and will offer the sale of works by:
Pictured: Acelino Sales – MAHKU, Nai Mãpu Yubekã, 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 146 x 204 cm | 59 7/8 x 82 5/8 in. Courtesy of the artists and Carmo Johnson Projects.
