1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, the leading international art fair dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and the African diaspora, will return to the Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea from May 13 to May 17, 2026. Now in its twelfth New York edition, the fair will welcome more than 20 exhibitors, from Lagos to London, São Paulo to Nassau, reflecting the pulse of contemporary African creativity across continents.
A highlight of this year’s edition will be a curated section 1-54 Presents: Brazil Beyond Brazil, led by Brazilian curator and professor Igor Simões, marking the fair’s first focus on Afro-Brazilian art and the wider cultural bridges between Africa and Latin America. Shedding light on Brazil’s position as the largest African-descendant nation outside the continent, the presentation will foreground artistic practices that bring together the deep historical and cultural connections across the Atlantic, expanding the fair’s exploration of transnational diasporic narratives.
“We are thrilled to return to the Starrett-Lehigh Building for the fair’s twelfth edition in New York,” said Touria El Glaoui, Founding Director of 1-54. “This year’s exhibitors underscore 1-54’s international reach, welcoming many first-time participants from across Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas. Each edition strengthens our commitment to championing diverse perspectives and connecting audiences to the dynamic and ever-expanding narratives of the African diaspora. Igor Simões’s curated selection further enriches this dialogue through the lens of Afro-Brazilian artistic practice.”
This May, 1-54 New York will feature over 20 exhibitors from 12 countries. The 2026 edition introduces several new participants to the fair, including Adegbola Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria), Aura (São Paolo, Brazil), Black Pony Gallery (Somerset/Town of St. George, Bermuda), Blond Contemporary (London, UK), The Current: Baha Mar Gallery & Art Center (Nassau, The Bahamas) and several from New York, including Picture Theory Projects (New York NY, USA) and Tanya Weddemire Gallery (Brooklyn NY, USA), among others.
At least 10 exhibitors are returning exhibitors to the fair this year, including 193 Gallery (Paris/St. Tropez, France and Venice, Italy), DozieArts (Clark NJ, USA), FILAFRIQUES (Geneva, Switzerland / Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire), Galerie Myrtis (Baltimore MD, USA), Gallery Article 15 (Washington DC, USA), KATES-FERRI PROJECTS (New York, USA), kumalo | turpin (Johannesburg, South Africa), LIS10 Gallery (Arezzo, Italy / Paris, France / Hong Kong), and O’DA Art (Lagos, Nigeria), reaffirming the fair’s role as the leading global platform dedicated to contemporary art from African and the African diaspora.
Visitors can look forward to striking new presentations, including several Congolese artists whose practices reveal the region’s rich artistic lineage: the late Chéri Chérin (Gallery Article 15, Washington DC, USA), celebrated for his vibrant Popular Painting movement, and modernist pioneer Marcel Gotène (Loeve&Co, Paris, France) of the Poto-Poto school. Across the fair, galleries will highlight bold approaches to abstraction and collage, from Moses Salihou (Tanya Weddemire Gallery, Brooklyn NY, USA), Aaron Kudi (Adegbola Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria) to Dede Brown (Black Pony Gallery, Somerset/Town of St. George, Bermuda), inviting visitors to experience firsthand the diversity and innovation of contemporary African art.
1-54 Presents: Brazil Beyond Brazil
Curated by Brazilian curator, writer, and professor Igor Simões, 1-54 Presents: Brazil Beyond Brazil positions Afro-Brazilian artistic production at the center of Brazil’s cultural narrative and its place within the global African diaspora. As the largest Black nation outside the African continent and a principal site of the transatlantic diaspora, Brazil Beyond Brazil offers a critical lens through which to reconsider dominant narratives of “Brazilian Art.” Moving beyond reductive framings of Brazilian art as exoticized and folkloric, the presentation highlights works that engage archival research, reinterpret modernist legacies, and interrogate the construction of national and art historical narratives. Across disciplines, these artists foreground the complexity of the Black Brazilian experience, expanding how Brazilian art is understood within an international context.
Additional details on special projects, talks, and collaborations will be revealed soon, promising new encounters and perspectives across this year’s fair.
1-54’s continued partnership with ONMT (Office National Marocain du Tourisme), the fair’s Global Destination Partner, ONMT will curate and produce a lounge that will reflect their commitment to creating spaces that celebrate the richness of Moroccan culture.
List of Participating Galleries (as of 30 March):
193 Gallery (Paris, France / St. Tropez, France / Venice, Italy)
Adegbola Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria)
Aura (São Paulo, Brazil)
Black Pony Gallery (Somerset MA, Bermuda / Town of St. George, Bermuda)
Blond Contemporary (London, UK)
DozieArts (Clark, USA)
FILAFRIQUES (Geneva, Switzerland / Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire)
Galerie Myrtis (Baltimore, USA)
Gallery Article 15 (Washington DC, USA)
KATES-FERRI PROJECTS (New York, USA)
kumalo | turpin (Johannesburg, South Africa)
LIS10 Gallery (Arezzo, Italy / Paris, France / Hong Kong)
Loeve&Co (Paris, France)
O’DA Art (Lagos, Nigeria)
Picture Theory Projects (New York, USA)
Tanya Weddemire Gallery (Brooklyn, USA)
The Current: Baha Mar Gallery & Art Center (Nassau, The Bahamas)
Press release from 1-54: Contemporary African Art Fair
Image: Ruby Perkins. Glories. 2025. Oil on canvas. 152.4 x 182.88 cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Picture Theory
