Expo Chicago Offers Cohesive and Impactful Programming Initiatives that Connect Chicago to Diverse Audiences
With new initiatives, expanded forums, and major voices, EXPO CHICAGO 2026 emphasizes collaboration and contemporary art discourse.
- New Initiative EXPO Projects presents local and national non-profits and other organizations through installations, activations, and performances.
- Nick Cave, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and other leading voices featured across Dialogues, Directors Summit, Exchange by Northern Trust, and an expanded Curatorial Forum.
- Purchase Prizes and awards champion national excellence, supporting organizations such as the Denver Art Museum, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Peabody Essex Museum, The Phillips Collection, Muskegon Museum of Art, and The Bronx Museum.
- Northern Trust returns as Presenting Sponsor alongside a strong lineup of partners.
CHICAGO — EXPO CHICAGO returns to Navy Pier April 9-12, 2026, with a dynamic lineup of programming alongside its gallery presentations. Led by newly appointed Director Kate Sierzputowski and Curator Essence Harden, the 2026 edition will introduce a unified vision across its programmatic initiatives. The fair will debut EXPO Projects, showcasing impactful presentations and activations from non-profits and other organizations on the fair floor, while incorporating conversations across the Dialogues panel series and Exchange by Northern Trust, alongside institutional programming such as the Directors Summit, and an expanded Curatorial Forum. The fair also sees the return of OVERRIDE, activating the city amongst the events taking place during EXPO ART WEEK, while the fair’s prizes and awards support museums across the United States.
‘EXPO CHICAGO’s program has been shaped to foreground artist- and institution-led initiatives, amplifying the work and missions of participating organizations,’ says Kate Sierzputowski, Director of EXPO CHICAGO. ‘Through new formats of engagement across the fair, the program supports deeper collaboration and reflects key moments of
transformation within Chicago’s cultural ecosystem.’
‘Across the fair, the programming is designed to make visible the connections between artists, galleries, institutions, and collectors,’ says Essence Harden, Curator of EXPO CHICAGO. ‘These projects connect the dots between different parts of the art world and highlight the conversations shaping contemporary practice today.’
‘As part of Frieze’s global portfolio, EXPO CHICAGO is an important platform for thoughtful dialogue,’ says Christine Messineo, Director of Americas at Frieze. ‘The fair’s programming offers vital perspectives on the ideas shaping contemporary practice, with discussions that continue to resonate across the wider art-fair calendar.’ Full program details and schedules may be found at expochicago.com.
