Europe’s longtime home of culture, Paris welcomes the art world each October for the Grande Dame of art fairs, FIAC?and, this year, the impressive young upstart Paris Internationale. Meanwhile, its host of influential gallerists, from Thaddaeus Ropac to Emmanuel Perrotin, and institutions like the Centre Pompidou and the Palais de Tokyo bolster the critical conversation year-round. Exhibition highlights in 2015 ranged from Mona Hatoum’s retrospective at the former to Ugo Rondinone’s homage to John Giorno at the latter.
06 Berlin
400+ GALLERIES IN 2015
35+ ART MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
3+ ART FAIRS IN 2015
Known first as a home to artists and artistic production, Berlin is in many respects the conceptual soul of contemporary art. Its galleries?which range from Esther Schipper, neugerriemschneider, Galerie Neu, and KONIG GALERIE to younger programs influencing art’s cutting edge like Tanya Leighton, Supportico Lopez, and PSM?take that remit seriously. And while April’s Gallery Weekend and September’s Berlin Art Week may attract the biggest amount of attention to the city each year, Berlin remains a key locale across the calendar for anyone in the art world keen to know what’s next.
07 Los Angeles
200+ GALLERIES IN 2015
20+ ART MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
3+ ART FAIRS IN 2015
Though the Southland is home to art fairs Art Los Angeles Contemporary (ALAC), Paris Photo LA, and Paramount Ranch, it’s the city’s recent mass-influx of artists that has perhaps drawn the most fervent art-world attention. Two thousand fifteen was an especially good year among the past few for the city’s upward trajectory. Galleries like New York’s Maccarone, London and Berlin’s Spruth Magers, and Hauser & Wirth all announced or opened new L.A. outposts. Meanwhile, in September, the city’s biggest artistic benefactors, Eli and Edythe Broad, opened The Broad, a $140 million new home for their collection, to critical acclaim.
08 Basel + Zurich
75+ GALLERIES IN 2015
15+ ART MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
10+ ART FAIRS IN 2015
Though Basel and Zurich both have vibrant art scenes in their own right, the mere hour-long commute between the pair (less than half of what it often takes to cross L.A.) means that an art-focused trip to one almost always includes the other. Such is the case each June when the art world stops off in Zurich for its annual gallery weekend ahead of the art market megalith that is Art Basel in Basel. The latter’s location on the borders Switzerland, France, and Germany (and its resulting status as a freeport) place it in the midst of Europe’s deepest pockets. Meanwhile, the cities’ highly influential Kunsthalle Basel and Kunsthalle Zurich set the tone for contemporary art’s future.
09 Hong Kong
50+ GALLERIES IN 2015
5+ ART MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
4+ ART FAIRS IN 2015
Art Basel christened Hong Kong a major art-world capital in 2013 when they purchased ART HK, which moved to March under its new moniker this year. The city, which serves as Asia’s economic hub, has for some time been in the crosshairs of the major auction houses, with Christie’s opening a gallery in 2010 and Sotheby’s in 2012. An increasing number of major galleries like Gagosian, Simon Lee, and Lehmann Maupin have set up outposts in the city. Museums like the forthcoming M+ are being developed at a rapid pace. And new fairs are opening like Art Central, which became Art Basel in Hong Kong’s first satellite in 2015. All that momentum makes Hong Kong one of art’s buzziest centers, with all eyes on where the city will go next.
10 Sao Paulo
40+ GALLERIES IN 2015
10+ ART MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
2+ ART FAIRS IN 2015
Though 2015 did not include an edition of the ever-influential Sao Paulo Biennial?Jochen Volz’s “Incerteza viva” (“Live Uncertainty”), the biennial’s 32nd edition, will take place next fall?Brazil’s financial center remains South America’s first city for art. That’s thanks to April’s SP-Arte and a host of influential galleries such as Mendes Wood DM, Galeria Nara Roesler, Galeria Jaqueline Martins, and Galeria Fortes Vilaca. The rapid economic growth that characterized Brazil’s last decade or so has taken something of a nose-dive in the past year, putting the brakes on Brazilian collecting habits. Still, those dealers and the country’s artists continue to hold a strong position on the international art radar.
11 Singapore
40+ GALLERIES IN 2015
5+ MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
3+ ART FAIRS IN 2015
It’s hardly surprising that a city with such economic might as Singapore would attract a hefty art scene. Major investments have been made in the country’s cultural infrastructure in recent years, including the 2012 opening of Gillman Barracks, which brought in international galleries such as ARNDT, Pearl Lam, Sundaram Tagore, and ShanghART. The city hosts Southeast Asia’s biggest fair, Art Stage Singapore. And, in November 2015, the National Gallery Singapore opened its doors. The city-state’s first major art museum merged the former City Hall and Supreme Court buildings and welcomed over 170,000 visitors in its first two weeks.
12 Istanbul
30+ GALLERIES IN 2015
10+ ART MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
3+ ART FAIRS IN 2015
