The Ultimate New York Art Guide (September 2026) Fairs, Museums and Galleries

It’s September, and for many that may mean back to school, pumpkin everything, or the beginning of autumn (my favorite time of the year). But if you’re in New York, September equals ART! ART! ART!

Twice a year, the city’s art world comes alive with ‘fair season’. In May with Frieze and everything that comes with it, and in September with The Armory show, bringing artists, collectors, curators, dealers, and art lovers from all over the world to New York.

It’s no secret I love art. In 2020, I earned my M.A. in Modern and Contemporary Art and the Market from Christie’s Education in New York. Although I no longer work in the art world strictly speaking I am ‘art adjacent’ as I like to say, since I work with a lot of artists from my legal corner, write about art, and keep up with what is happening.

I know that the art world can feel intimidating if you’re not familiar with it. If you’re interested (or even just a little curious) this is your sign to go to a museum you’ve never been to, attend a fair or walk into a gallery, I promise you they don’t bite. The first step can feel daunting. But once you start, you’ll realize how easy it is to make the art world part of your everyday life, and how fulfilling art is.

If you’re not sure where to start - here’s the ultimate guide, or if you’re a regular I hope this is helpful to plan your itinerary.

---

-FAIRS-

You might have heard here and there about art fairs. If you’ve been too scared to ask, I got you covered. So what really is an art fair? An art fair is, essentially, a temporary art venue where galleries from different places come together to show and sell art. The idea stems from the medieval trade fairs where merchants gathered in one place to reach a larger audience. This transformed in postwar Europe, specifically in 1967 when German art dealers Rudolf Zwirner and Hein Stünke founded Art Cologne, to revive the art market. The model worked because it brought the market together in one place and created momentum that expanded beyond galleries, attracting tourism to the city. This eventually evolved into the mega-fairs like Art Basel and Frieze, and subsequently into the many more satellite fairs that open around the main one, parties, dinners, local gallery openings, museum openings etc. In September in New York, the main art fair is The Armory Show - the rest are ‘satellite fairs’. This doesn’t mean they’re not important, but they’re usually smaller and more niche.

The Armory Show

Dates: September 24–27

Location: Javits Center, 429 11th Ave.

Ticket: $60 (single day admission)

The main fair of New York’s fall art season, presenting international modern and contemporary galleries.

Affordable Art Fair

Dates: September 16 - 20

Location: Starrett-Lehigh Building, 601 W. 26th St.

Ticket: $35 (general admission)

Accessible contemporary art, with works ranging from $100 to $12,000. Great place to start collecting!

SPRING/BREAK Art Show

Dates: September 23 - 28

Location: 555 W 57th St

Ticket: $30.11 (general admission starting Sept. 24th)

This one is the most unique of this list with curator-driven exhibitions, special projects. It is more experimental than the other fairs.

Independent 20th Century

Dates: September 24–27

Location: Sotheby’s New York / The Breuer, 945 Madison Ave.

Ticket: $48 (single day)

Usually referred to only as “Independent”; it focuses on art made between 1900 and 2000, historically oriented and highly curated.

---

-MUSEUMS-

Museums don’t need any introduction… but as I was telling you before, many of them plan their blockbuster openings of the season to coincide with the fairs. The good thing is they last longer than the fairs so you have more time to catch them.

The Guggenheim Museum

Exhibition: Taryn Simon - Father Country I Do Love You

Dates: September 18, 2026–March 14, 2027

Whitney Museum of American Art

Exhibition: Roy Lichtenstein: 1997

Dates: September 5th

If you visit the Whitney don’t forget to see the Whitney Biennial 2026, which remains on view through October 12.

New Museum

Exhibition: Arthur Jafa: I Am Tony

Dates: September 24, 2026–January 3, 2027

Studio Museum in Harlem

Exhibition: Geometries

Dates: September 10, 2026–January 31, 2027

MoMA PS1

Exhibition: Homeroom: Artists Against the Bomb

Dates: September 10, 2026–February 8, 2027

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

If you are visiting New York specifically for September’s art season, the Met’s new fall blockbuster will not yet be open—but you can still catch exhibitions such as Giacometti in the Temple of Dendur, Musical Bodies and Costume Art.

Exhibition: Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous*

Dates: October 4, 2026–January 31, 2027

* Even though this one opens in October, it is worth mentioning because it is one of the major exhibitions of the fall. It brings together the work of Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, tracing their intertwined artistic and personal lives.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

This is your last chance to visit the Frida and Diego: The Last Dream exhibit before it closed September 12th. You can learn more about it in my article Stop Calling Frida and Diego “Relationship Goals”.

Exhibition: Brancusi The Artist and His Studio*

Dates: October 25, 2026–February 27, 2027

*It opens in October but it’s also worth mentioning. Keep it in your calendar!

Brooklyn Museum

Exhibition: Michael Richards: Free F’All

Dates: September 11, 2026–June 6, 2027

Exhibition: Cézanne to Modigliani: Gifts of Modern Art from the Pearlman Collection*

Dates: October 2, 2026–April 18, 2027

*Another one to keep in your fall calendar!

---

- GALLERIES -

Out of fairs and museums, galleries can feel like the most intimidating for sure. Quiet, usually empty, making you self-conscious of your every move. But gallery hopping is actually a great, thought provoking, conversation inducing plan. Great for a date, catching up with a friend or simply a solo day seeking inspiration. As a former gallerina, I can attest, you can ask anything and mostly everyone will gladly give you a tour or explain the show to you. Plus! you don’t need to purchase a ticket, and if you want to go to the opening nights they’re also open to the public so they’re great to meet people too.

A few notes before going:

• In New York there are gallery openings mostly every week not only in September. And even only in September there are hundreds of them so I won’t mention them all (only highlights).

• Most openings are from 6pm through 8pm (but see their websites and/or social media to double check)

• If you’ve never gallery-hopped before, I recommend starting at Chelsea. It is the center of the NY gallery art world, and the easiest to walk around since most of them are concentrated between West 18th and West 28th Streets - 10th and 11th Avenues.

Wednesday, September 9

Tribeca, SoHo, and Lower East Side

Highlights:

• Christine Safa, Daniel Buren and Barbara Kasten, and Yuan Yuan at Bortolami, 39 Walker St.

• Melissa Joseph: Casserole Culture at Charles Moffett, 394 Broadway.

• Volker Hüller: Angelus Novus at Grimm, 54 White St.

• Nikki Maloof, Young-Il Ahn, and Aryo Toh Djojo at Perrotin, 130 Orchard St.

• Rita Ackermann: The Chemical Alphabet at Hauser & Wirth, 134 Wooster St.

Thursday, September 10

Chelsea

This will be the biggest gallery-opening night of the month.

Highlights:

• Ana Segovia: the office of inter-american affairs presents, at Kurimanzutto, 516 w 20th street

• Rana Begum and Anna Park: House Rules at Lehmann Maupin, 501 West 24th St.

• Deana Lawson at Gagosian, 541 West 24th St.

• Hans Arp: Heads or Tails, Lee Bul: The Anatomy of Every Setting Sun*, and George Rouy: REPRISE at Hauser & Wirth, 542 West 22nd St.

• Eric N. Mack: You Red the Shirt Off My Back and Tauba Auerbach: Zephyr, Zephyr at Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 W 21st St

• Tania Franco Klein: RAGE™ and works by Manuel Álvarez Bravo at Yancey Richardson, 525 West 22nd St.

Friday, September 11

Chelsea, Tribeca, and Brooklyn

• Lynda Benglis KNOTTING, TYING, FOLDING at PACE, 540 West 25th Street.

• Settle for a Good Fantasy at Luhring Augustine, 531 West 24th St.

• Oscar yi Hou: Nightcrawling at James Fuentes, 52 White St.

• Peter Opheim: Cave at The Hole, 86 Walker St.

• LaJuné McMillian: Child/ren of the Bloom at Pioneer Works, 159 Pioneer St.

September 15–17

Chelsea, Tribeca, and the Upper East Side

• Hiroshi Sugimoto: Unnatural Habitat at Lisson Gallery, 504 West 24th St (September 15.)

• Joseph Yaeger: Agita at Gladstone Gallery, 515 West 24th St (September 16.)

• Anthea Hamilton: Comfort Zones at Salon 94, 3 East 89th St (September 16.)

• Louise Bourgeois: Germinal at Craig F. Starr Gallery, East 73rd St (September 17.)

September 21

100 Women of Spirit +, Part 5 at Salon Zürcher, 33 Bleecker St.

---

Wishing you an artsy September.

Until next week!