public programming
The 2025 edition of Future Fair is offering an intimate conversations lounge and curated tours of the fair organized by our collaborators.
The Matronage Salon
The Future Fair conversations lounge, a ‘The Matronage Salon by Less Than Half’, is dedicated to supporting women in the arts.
Less Than Half seeks to inspire culturally-engaged women to find meaning in art as collectors and supporters of women artists. Matronage is a collecting philosophy that addresses the structures that maintain unequal gender representation in art history and the market.
The Matronage Salon programming features candid discussions with art world professionals that explore the past, present, and future position of women in the arts. Additional programming extends to topics such as curatorial approaches behind Future Fair and new economic models for contemporary art.
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2025
New Models | Empowering Artists and Creating Entry Points for New Collectors
with Bibi Zavieh, Founder of newcube (New York, NY), exhibiting artist Rachel Hakimian Emenaker and collector Pamela Hornik;
moderated by Alexandra Steinacker, art historian, curator, writer, and founder of the All About Art podcast
THU, MAY 8, 1 PM; SPECIAL PROJECT 2 AT FUTURE FAIR
Join us in the Talks Lounge for a candid conversation that pulls back the curtain on the artist–dealer relationship—how trust is built, collaborations take shape, and how both sides navigate the art market together. The discussion will also explore practical and accessible entry points for new collectors seeking to engage with contemporary art in meaningful ways.
Matronage Salon: State of Women Artists
with exhibitor Destinee Ross-Sutton (Ross-Sutton Gallery), Eden Deering, (Director, PPOW), and Less than Half’s founder Hall W. Rockefeller
THU, MAY 8, 4 PM; SPECIAL PROJECT 2 AT FUTURE FAIR
Join us for the second annual conversation on the state of women artists in our institutions and the art market. This panel brings together Eden Deering, Director at PPOW and one of Future Fair’s 2025 curators, and Director of Ross-Sutton Gallery, Destinee Ross-Sutton (Booth #R10) to talk about how they support women artists in their gallery programming and beyond, as well as reflect on the progress for women artists in 2025.
Why I make art
with Brian Alfred, Associate Professor of Art, Penn State and Host of Sound & Vision Podcast, Liz Nielsen, artist and exhibitor (Elijah Wheat Showroom), and artist E.E. Kono.
THU, MAY 8, 5:45 PM; SPECIAL PROJECT 2 AT FUTURE FAIR
A discussion with artists and host of Sound & Vision, Brian Alfred. Brian’s book, Why I Make Art: Contemporary Artists' Stories About Life and Work, will be available for purchase.
CHELSEA NIGHT
THU, MAY 8, 4 - 7:00 PM; FUTURE FAIR
Chelsea Night is our annual event alongside the plethora of neighborhood gallery openings this Thursday.
FUTURE FAIR ARTIST PARTY
THU, MAY 8, 8:00-10:00 PM
BLACK CRESCENT, 76 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002
After Chelsea Night, please join us in the Lower East Side for the Future Fair Artist Party, a convivial evening to celebrate the artists of Future Fair 2025. Drinks by Aval and Wellfleet oysters specials!
Co-hosted by Aval Cider.
FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2025
Cultivating the Next Generation of Art Patrons: Engaging Millenials & Gen Z
with exhibitors Jenna Ferrey, Trotter&Sholer Gallery, Zina Reed, Director of Development at Sculpture Center, Future Fair co-founder Rachel Mijares Fick, and collector Monica Lee
FRI, MAY 9, 1 PM; SPECIAL PROJECT 2 AT FUTURE FAIR
Join us for a conversation surrounding the current market and how we engage the next generation of art patronage, collecting, and philanthropy as an industry.
Matronage Salon: Value and Values: Sustainably Investing in Women
with exhibitor Maryana Kaliner (KALINER), Rebecca Fine (Athena Art Finance, Yieldstreet), and Less than Half’s founder Hall W. Rockefeller
FRI, MAY 9, 4:30 PM; SPECIAL PROJECT 2 AT FUTURE FAIR
In 2025, the art market is increasingly tangled in the world of investing. With crypto investors and flippers turning their sights on the art market,hoping to make a quick buck, how do find ways to invest in women artists in a sustainable, long term way that lifts the entire art ecosystem with it? Rebecca Fine and Maryana Kaliner will discuss their perspective.
SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2025
Room of Her Own: Artists in Dialogue
with exhibitor Leslie Weissman (Loft Projects), and Less than Half’s founder Hall W. Rockefeller
SAT, MAY 10, 12:00 PM; SPECIAL PROJECT 2 AT FUTURE FAIR
Join us for an informal conversation with participating artists from Room of Her Own, a special curation by Loft Projects at Future Fair.
Complementary espresso will be available for all guests from our partner Cafe Aroma.
Today’s Majority Minority: Latinx Power and Cultural Presence
with Aida Valdez (Founder, MAD54, Curator), exhibitor Antonio DelValle-Lago (Sabroso Projects), exhibitor Steve Rivera (CON ALTURA), and Karen Vindangos (Senior Manager of Social Media at The Met)
SAT, MAY 10, 2:00 PM; SPECIAL PROJECT 2 AT FUTURE FAIR
Latinx communities are a growing force in the U.S., shaping culture and conversation across industries—but they remain underrepresented in the art world. In this panel, Future Fair 2025 exhibitors, Antonio del Valle (Founder, Sabroso Projects) and Steve Rivera (Founder, Con Altura), are joined by Karen Vidangos (Head of Social Media, The Met) to explore the current landscape for Latinx artists, curators, and cultural leaders. From curatorial visibility and collector support to the role of social media and broader structural challenges, the conversation will reflect on where we are—and where we’re headed.
MAtronage Salon: Legacy Makers: Writing Women into Art History
with Nicole Shipley (Safe Space Pictures), Valerie Harris (independent writer and researcher), and Less than Half’s founder Hall W. Rockefeller
SAT, MAY 10, 4:30 PM; SPECIAL PROJECT 2 AT FUTURE FAIR
How do women’s stories from the past reach us in the present? What are the obstacles to telling these stories? The rewards? Nicole Shipley, CEO of Safe Space Pictures, will discuss the forthcoming documentary on Artemisis Gentileschi, while Valerie Harris will speak on her ongoing scholarship bringing Harlem Renaissance painter Laura Wheeler Waring to the fore.
TOURS
