Among New York City’s most anticipated annual art events, The Armory Show is returning to the Javits Center this September 5th through 8th. From its beginnings, the fair—now in its 30th edition—has focused primarily on showing contemporary art by living artists. Its exhibitors also feature the work of 20th-century greats.
Located at the Javits Center on 11th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen—just north of some of the city’s most prominent galleries in Chelsea—this year’s fair will feature over 235 galleries from 35 countries. Among these, 55 are first-time exhibitors.
Launched as the Gramercy International Art Fair in 1994, The Armory Show is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The milestone comes at a transitional time for the fair, which was acquired by Frieze in July 2023. This year’s fair was planned in collaboration with Frieze. The Armory Show also recently appointed a new director, Kyla McMillan, founder of Saint George Projects and a former director at David Zwirner.
In addition to the main Galleries section, there are several curated sections throughout the fair, including:
- Solo, which features solo presentations by artists ranging from emerging talents to 20th-century masters.
- Focus, curated by The Kitchen’s senior curator Robyn Farrell, which showcases cross-disciplinary projects that call back to the fair’s avant-garde beginnings.
- Presents, which spotlights younger galleries that have been operating for 10 years or less.
- Platform, curated by former Brooklyn Museum curator Eugenie Tsai, which features large-scale installations installed throughout the fair. This year, the presentation will explore the theme of collective memory, with works by Dominique Fung, Sanford Biggers, and Nari Ward, among others.
Dates and hours
The Armory Show’s invitation-only VIP preview runs on Thursday, September 5th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The fair is open to the public on September 6th and 7th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on September 8th from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased on site at the door, or in advance from The Armory Show’s website. Single-day admission will run you $57, or you can buy a multi-day entry pass for $120.
We’re pleased to be hosting the exclusive online preview of The Armory Show on Artsy, beginning August 29th. Even if you plan to attend the fair in person, browsing the digital preview can help you strategize before your visit and be first to inquire about artwork availability before these works are shown publicly. We’ll continue hosting inventory on Artsy until September 22nd, so you can shop long after the booths come down at the Javits Center.
Artsy’s Curatorial team scoured the preview to highlight the very best available artworks in our Curators’ Picks: Armory Week collection, which we’ll continue to update regularly as more inventory becomes available on Artsy.
Here, we share the artists and trends we’re eyeing at the fair.
The Armory Show is not the only fair happening in New York in September. Independent 20th Century is back at Cipriani South Street from September 5th through 8th, and VOLTA Art Fair, which focuses on emerging art, is also returning to New York from September 4th through 8th. And of course, there will be plenty of new gallery shows opening across the city, from Tribeca to the Upper East Side.
The Armory Show 2024’s off-site programming expands the fair’s footprint with a range of public artworks across New York City. We’re eyeing Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons’s Procession of Angels for Radical Love and Unity, a participatory procession taking place on September 7th. And for those heading to the U.S. Open, don’t miss a series of large-scale sculptures at the National Tennis Center.
