The annual calendar of art lovers is punctuated by art fairs, which are now held in all seasons and dot the agendas of gallerists and international collectors.

Frieze Art Fair, Art Basel, FIAC ot the italians Artissima e Miart, are just one of the 260 fairs which are held every year, attracting players from the art world and enthusiasts to catch up with the most interesting news of art and acquire new works for their collection.

Although they have a similar structures, each of the fairs seeks every year to renew itself, in a continuous effort to increase its international prestige.

It is always good, therefore, to know what is the specialty of a fair in order to know where to find the gallery that fits your needs.

Each fair is divided by sections, or macro-areas in which the event is organised and which contain a number of galleries that are consistent by type of exhibition projects, selected by the Scientific and Curatorial Committee.

Every gallery interested in taking part in the fair must check the Call for Submissions, published on the official website, where they are going to find important information such as:

• Documentation required for the application
• Rules for selection and the scientific committee that will take care of it
• Size in square meters of the stands, costs and technical specifications

The galleries intended to participate must submit a file that generally includes:

• Information related to the gallery such as curriculum, mission, digital profiles and previous exhibitions
• Description of the exhibition project
• Documentation relating to the artists to be exhibited (for each individual artist: biography, bibliography and images of works)

It is important to remember that there are some discriminating factors that generally affect the choice of one gallery rather than another, as stated from the gallerist Massimo Minini, part of some selection juries:

• Internationally renowned reputation of the gallery
• The type of relationship with artists and with other market players
• Reputation of the exhibited artists but also the drawing of a curatorial project particularly interesting compared to the other exhibitors
• The business management of the gallery

Whether it’s primary or secondary market, high profile or affordable, nowadays fairs for any taste, including those designed for independent artists interested in exhibiting their works and maybe find their future gallerist or curator: in short, you just have to organise the agenda and leave!

And you, are you ready to enter the circuit

of the international art fairs?