Editor’s Note: This story is part of Newsmakers, a new ARTnews series where we interview the movers and shakers who are making change in the art world.
Chicago’s art scene is getting a new, more intimate addition this spring. Timed to coincide with Expo Chicago, a new satellite fair called Neighbors will debut inside a historic Gold Coast apartment a stone’s throw from from Navy Pier. Founded by Texas-based collector Mirka Serrato and UK-based dealer Jonny Tanna, founder of London’s Harlesden High Street gallery, Neighbors, running April 8 to 12, will bring together a small, tightly curated group of galleries from cities including London, New York, Chicago, and Dallas.
Serrato lived in the apartment for nearly three years before relocating to Texas, and wanted to reimagine its unique interior as a space for contemporary art. After a chance meeting with Tanna, who also cofounded London’s Minor Attractions art fair, at last year’s Art Basel in Switzerland, Serrato had her business parter. The duo wasted no time in making the new fair a reality.
With just four rooms and no traditional booths, Neighbors aims to offer a slower, more deliberate alternative to the sprawling fair model. ARTnews spoke with Serrato and Tanna about how they plan to rethink the art fair format.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and concision.
ARTnews: Neighbors is launching during the same week as Expo Chicago. That seems like a good moment for crowds. But what gap in the ecosystem are you trying to fill?
Mirka Serrato: Most fairs, even some large ones, don’t have a tightly curated lineup. Galleries often participate to cover costs, rather than thinking about how their works interact or create meaningful dialogue. For Neighbors, we wanted to flip that approach. We’re limiting the number of participants and focusing on quality over quantity. This isn’t a critique of Expo or other fairs, they serve a different purpose, but we recognized a gap in Chicago. There isn’t really a satellite fair that fosters a genuine conversation between artists, galleries, and collectors. Chicago has a strong art scene, and we felt it deserved something that reflects that level of rigor and care.
Jonny Tanna: What’s exciting is the venue itself: a historical, domestic-scale home. It allows galleries to reimagine how their work exists in space. Instead of a generic fair hall, exhibitors are thinking about how a piece fits into a room, a corner, or a particular architectural feature. It also creates a kind of cross-pollination. We’re bringing in galleries and collectors from London, Dallas, Los Angeles, and beyond, so different communities are learning from each other. The name “Neighbors” really speaks to that—bringing people together to see what each has to offer.
How do you avoid some of the pitfalls that bigger fairs face, especially the pressure on smaller galleries to sell?
Serrato: We’ve tried to be proactive. Our curatorial process has been rigorous, we’ve followed galleries’ programming for months, paying attention to the artists they support and how they present their work outside of a fair context. Then we invite them based on that, rather than asking them to create something entirely new. That reduces the stress that often comes with a first-time fair. There’s no last-minute pressure to impress. The works feel authentic to each gallery’s practice, and the dialogue between them is intentional.
Tanna: Another issue with larger fairs is that a gallery’s reputation doesn’t always match what’s actually presented. That can be disappointing. We’ve taken a more discerning approach. We’re not filling space just to make money, we’d rather have fewer galleries that are disciplined and in conversation with one another. That’s something I’ve learned from participating in dozens of fairs. Less really can be more.
The venue is unconventional. It’s not a typical fair hall. How does that affect how the art is shown and experienced?
Serrato: The setting is a big part of the fair’s identity. It’s a historic home, so the art exists within a story and a neighborhood rather than a neutral, interchangeable space. Having lived there myself, I understand its architecture and its relationship to the city. It also creates a more intimate experience. You can walk through the entire fair in a short amount of time, it’s just a few rooms, and that allows for more meaningful exchanges between collectors and galleries. There’s none of the stress of navigating a massive convention center.
Tanna: It encourages experimentation. Galleries can play with installation, scale, and narrative in ways that wouldn’t be possible in a standard booth. In a way, it returns to an older model of collecting, where people encountered art in private homes before it entered institutions. We’re combining that with the needs of the contemporary art world—visibility, interaction, and a sense of discovery. When it works, it creates a memorable experience for both exhibitors and visitors.
In its domestic setting, Neighbors plans to deviate from the typical art fair format.
Courtesy Neighbors
Jonny, you’ve organized fairs in unconventional spaces before. How has that experience shaped your plans for Neighbors?
Tanna: Working in places like hotels or railway arches teaches you to think creatively around limitations. There are always practical challenges, installation restrictions, unusual layouts, but the key lesson is that the exhibitor experience comes first. Even if sales aren’t as strong as expected, if exhibitors feel supported and well-hosted, they’ll come back. That’s the metric we care about: making sure the experience matches expectations, whether that’s press coverage, collector engagement, or curator visits. It’s also about building trust. Galleries need to know their work will be presented thoughtfully, even in a nontraditional setting.
What would success look like for this first edition?
Serrato: First and foremost, we want the fair to come together well, strong curation, high-quality work, and a sense of cohesion throughout. That’s the baseline. Beyond that, success means that everyone walks away happy: exhibitors feel supported, collectors feel engaged, and visitors feel inspired. For a first edition, that’s what matters most.
Tanna: Then it becomes about building a network. We don’t want this to be tied to a single venue, we want to create something that can evolve and grow while keeping its core principles intact. If we build trust with exhibitors and collectors, they’ll follow us. The real measure of success is when people ask, “When are we doing this again?” That’s when you know it’s worked.
