Art Basel 2026 opened at Messe Basel this week, running from the 18th to the 21st of June, highlighting 290 galleries from 43 countries and territories.

This year, 21 first time participants were present, such as the likes of Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. 

Unlimited, the sector dedicated to large-scale installation and performance, is curated for the first time by Ruba Katrib, Chief Curator at MoMA PS1, presenting 59 major works across the halls. Parcours returns under Stefanie Hessler with this year’s theme of “Conviviality,” unfolding through public spaces toward the Rhine.

Two new commissions extend the fair beyond the Messe itself: Nairy Baghramian’s work on the Messeplatz and Ibrahim Mahama’s installation on the Münsterplatz, both honoured as the inaugural Art Basel Gold Award winners. 

Art Basel’s week is never simply contained to one building. Liste and VOLTA draw collectors across town, hunting the next generation of galleries, whilst Basel Social Club has become the event the whole city talks about.

This year’s instalment takes over a vacant office building near Basel SBB station, with the theme “Office” turning workplace ritual into performance and spectacle across more than a hundred rooms.

The lineup includes more than 150 performers alongside artists such as Marina Abramović, Maurizio Cattelan and Jenny Holzer. Meanwhile, its underground parking garage has been transformed into a nightclub, animated by a continuous light and sound installation. 

Art Basel 2026 serves as a reliable barometer of where taste is heading next, for those who follow design as closely as they follow art. Basel, a city happy to hold a museum-grade fair and an all-night office party in the same week, without either feeling like the lesser event.