The Galleries Show: New Boutique Art Fair Format Launches in Antwerp

A new cooperative art fair format has opened in Antwerp, Belgium, following the reopening of the KMSKA (Royal Museum of Fine Arts). The Galleries Show (October 6–9, 2022) is a hybrid fair/exhibition/collaborative project conceived by Antwerp gallery Office Baroque and Kraft Studios. It features eight European galleries: Office Baroque (Antwerp), Clima (Milan), Drei (Cologne), Klemm's (Berlin), Piktogram and Dawid Radziszewski (Warsaw), Suprainfinit (Bucharest), and Nadja Vilenne (Liège). The title revives a 2006 project by Marie Denkens and Wim Peeters, founders of Office Baroque, originally held at Extra City with 22 galleries including Greene Naftali, Daniel Buchholz, Isabella Bortolozzi, Standard, Dependance, Jan Mot, and Peres Projects. The 2022 edition aims to "redefine the local dimension in post-pandemic times," exploring how galleries can balance local events with reaching wider audiences. The fair takes place in a former gym at Winkelcentrum Oudaan, which will become Office Baroque's new home. A second edition is scheduled for December 15–18, 2022, coinciding with Art Antwerp, and a third for April 20–23, 2023. Office Baroque returned to Antwerp after closing its Brussels space in 2013, seeking new collaborative working methods. The organizers believe smaller-scale projects can point toward new models for art production and reception, as large-scale fairs' digital platforms cannot replace the experience of artworks.