The New York Art Fair Independent Company will move to its new home in 2026. The May edition will be held at Pier 36 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a 50,000-square-foot venue that more than doubles its previous home in Spring Studios.
This transformation is both practical and strategic, with partly aiming to accommodate the pandemic gallery participation at its Tribeca location. In 2025, independents hosted 83 exhibitors in spaces including Skyboxes and reused utility rooms. “Even our coat inspections were given a special project,” Elizabeth Dee, founder of the fair, said in an interview.
The move also reflects a wider recalibration in the artistic fair landscape. The Pier 36 is located independent of the walking distance of the lower east gallery and is close to Tefaf via FDR Drive, another fair that took place the same week. According to Dee, being more directly aligned with the city’s spring tour is a step towards increasing attendance and institutional relevance. Independents reported that traffic rose by 25% in 2025 when the expo last happened.
Founded in 2010, Independent is positioned as a replacement for fairs such as Frieze, beyond the roots of contemporary art. Its current model includes May Fair and a separate fall edition, the independent 20th century, dedicated to neglected or identified artists of the modern era.
However, Di emphasized that the independent core remains the same. She said.
Brooklyn-based company So-Il will oversee the architectural redesign of Pier 36, which also designed the Seoul Gallery in Kukje and Amant Art Space in Brooklyn. The exhibition design of the fair will be led by D_P_S of Berlin. Together, their task was to create new models independently described as “what the art fair could be.”
Whether the new venue will change the personality of the fair remains to be seen. Dee emphasizes that change is one of scale, not one of directions. “If anything, the focus has just deepened,” she said.
