Editor’s Note: This story is part of Newsmakers, a new ARTnews series where we interview the movers and shakers who are making change in the art world.
In the last decade, the UK has been hit with Brexit and its aftermath, a global pandemic, and seven new prime ministers, but the country has retained its number two ranking in terms of global trade by value behind the US, according to the 2026 Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report. When Frieze London and Frieze Masters take over the grounds of Regent’s Park starting on Wednesday, spirits could remain high; the positive mindset may also be found at fairs like Minor Attractions and the London Invitational, which will also take place during Frieze Week.
As in the past, there remains a wrinkle: Art Basel Paris is taking place next week, and many are skipping London for that fair. However, this edition of Frieze London is bigger than the last’s years, with 176 galleries from 43 countries. In 2025, there were 160 galleries operating from 44 countries.
Kristell Chadé, Frieze’s executive director of fairs, has been with the organization for 15 years and now oversees eight fairs across the Frieze portfolio. “Global does not by any means mean uniform and we don’t export a fixed concept to the other fairs. Each fair has its own identity and as we become more global, we are more interconnected, which is a real strength for us,” she said. This year’s fair has an increased presence from South Asia; Frieze London has its first Sri Lankan participant in Saskia Fernando, for one. There’s also going to be a notable South Asian presence at Frieze Abu Dhabi next month, too.
ARTnews spoke with Chadé about London’s position in the art market, competing with Art Basel Paris, the health of the fair, and how it’s navigating Abu Dhabi amid political turmoil.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and concision.
ARTnews: What is the big theme at this year’s Frieze London and Masters?
Kristell Chadé: Frieze London and Freeze Masters are our most global fairs across the board, and that’s something we’ve definitely continued year on year. The thread between the two fairs is a sense of discovery. History is being told, reexamined, expanded, and rewritten. This year, as with previous editions, there’s experimentation and ambition, putting emerging artists in conversation with established practices, and that’s always been a fundamental element of the fair. Frieze’s broader role is supporting artists through their careers, and what we did with the 2024 redesign of the fair was push initiatives around putting young voices at the forefront and make sure that all segments of the market are represented
With Frieze Masters, the focus is very different: It is rooted in scholarship and expertise. But what makes it so unique is that it doesn’t present art history as a single and linear story. The idea is really to open new connections and narratives between periods, cultures and geographies.
Frieze London prides itself on its global energy. What geographic areas are the focus this year?
We’re very pleased to see year-on-year applications from new geographies, and that’s really something we’re trying to continue to promote year after year. Frankly, for us, it’s a real indicator of success: The breadth of geographies and perspectives that you can encounter at the fair is something that we closely track and that we continue to work to expand.
The main trend this year across both fairs is an increased presence from South Asia, which is really exciting for us, especially considering our presence in the region for the last five years. Having a foot in South Asia has really allowed us to strengthen those connections. We have our very first gallery participating from Sri Lanka this year. We’re seeing a strong contingent from Brazil, which has stemmed from past curated initiatives such as the Breeze Curator Travel Grant, an initiative with the Instituto Guimarães Rosa and the Embassy of Brazil in London. The grant offers five Brazil-based curators the opportunity to participate in the fair. Another region that remains strong is South Korea, as well as the Gulf and North Africa. From the numbers we’re looking at and from the trends we’ve seen so far, we are excited to welcome more collectors from India, Pakistan, Singapore, Indonesia, Turkey, and Canada. We’re also expecting an increased number of American collectors to visit the fair this year.
It goes without saying that London is an incredible global city. We know that it remains one of the world’s most important cultural centers—it’s the second largest art market globally, and it has real appeal in that sense for galleries and collectors. London allows creative talent to thrive. We have highly regarded art schools, world-class museums, and a thriving gallery scene, probably more than most cities can claim.
London is being called the city where artists work and live taking over from Berlin. What still connects artists to this city? And what is Frieze as an organization doing to keep artists, international dealers, and collectors coming back?
We are a commercial platform, there’s no denying that and ultimately, we want galleries to be able to make sales at the fair, that’s a big part of why they participate. Our responsibility goes way beyond just the commercial aspect of the fair. Frieze London and Frieze Masters have acquisition funds that support museums purchasing works from the fair, from the Tate Fund to the Dasha Shenkman Focus Fund.
We also have great opportunities for major commissions and exhibitions for artists who are showing at the fair such as the Frieze Artists Award and the Camden Art Centre Emerging Artist Award, those are incredible opportunities for artists and it’s a very pivotal moment in their careers. At the same time, we collaborate with a number of organizations and embassies that allow travel from different countries to the fair for curators that are based in their countries. We’ve worked with Brazil and Italy. Frieze’s mission is to turn visibility at the fair, which is something very easy to experience, into long-term support. The idea is to have a long-term legacy for the art world and the art community.
Even though people say London has lost to Paris, it’s still a city that’s dominated by all types of art fairs, from the London Invitational and Minor Attractions to Frieze. What’s your feeling about London’s art scene? Has it really lost to Paris?
The autumn season clearly revolves around two well-established centers of gravity, London and Paris. But I do think they’re different and complementary offers. Galleries and collectors choose to do both, and there’s a clear rationale for them to do so. Our best argument in favor of London is that the city has so much to offer and London remains unmatched in the richness and diversity of its ecosystem. Frieze is about discovery and London is that place for it with new artists, studios, gallery openings, and new nonprofit or artist-run spaces opening.
When it comes to business, what is the health of Frieze London and Masters right now? And are you making any adjustments?
Both Frieze London and Frieze Masters galleries are full with really strong and diverse galleries, that speaks for itself. For the actual numbers, we do have slightly higher numbers of galleries and countries this year, which is always an interesting data point. However, beyond just the numbers, what’s helpful for us is to look more specifically at the quality of the content and breadth of what’s being represented at the fair.
To your question around adjustments, we’re not a fixed model and we’re conscious of our responsibilities—we talk to galleries all the time, also collectors, advisers, museums and those conversations really inform our decisions. We know it’s a demanding time for galleries who are under a lot of pressure. We know costs have gone up across the board and that galleries, especially mid-sized and younger ones, have to make decisions and are thinking very carefully about where they show, why, and what. And I think that’s actually healthy. We don’t want to have a fixed model when the world around us is evolving so quickly. We represent all segments of the market, from international blue-chip to established mid-market galleries to younger, more emerging galleries. They’re all equally important constituents for us to consider.
What are the challenges that Frieze as an organization is facing right now?
The pressure that galleries are under and how it forces us to think on our feet probably is the biggest challenge that we’re facing right now. Over the last few years, we have shown how we’ve been able to make changes and respond to those shifting requirements. If you think about gallery pricing, we always aim to keep annual increases minimal, if not keep the prices flat year-on-year where possible because we are conscious of the financial impact on our participating galleries. In 2024, we introduced a sliding-scale pricing model to help galleries make the move from Focus into the main section of the fair—it’s something that’s very dear to our heart in terms of supporting that next generation of galleries. We also have a number of curated sections that have lower entry points and what we’re trying to do is have different ways for galleries to participate, depending on where they are in their careers and what their priorities are at certain point in time, which artists they’re working with, and what part of their program they’re keen to show at the fair.
The fair’s first curated thread is devoted to a hot topic—queer visual history. How did you decide on “Queering Modernism” during such a shaky political climate?
It shows that Frieze acts as a platform for what is happening in the world and gives opportunities to encounter themes and ideas that are sometimes radical and sometimes new to provoke reactions and discourse. For us to be part of that discourse and conversation is ultimately what we thrive to do. The section is an example of how closely we work with curators and we find our legitimacy in our collaborators. We shine a spotlight on curators, artists, and galleries.
Frieze started in 2003 and has grown to include eight art fairs. How has this growth been possible? How are you partnering up with other countries, but still having a point of difference?
When I started at Frieze, we only had one fair. The growth over a decade has never been about adding points on a map. We wanted to see what Frieze could bring to each city’s existing ecosystem or a gap in the market. London is all about that trailblazing energy, whereas New York is a snapshot of what’s being made today: It’s the epicenter of the global art market. In LA, there’s a strong civic engagement that runs through everything we do from gallery presentations to artist projects. Seoul is the balance between tradition and cutting-edge practices, and Chicago is rooted in the midwestern community. When Abu Dhabi happens next month, it really takes its roots in the growing ambition of the cultural offer that the Emirate has been building. For us, global does not by any means mean uniform, and we don’t export a fixed concept.
You’ve been at Frieze for almost 15 years. How has your role changed, but also the business of running an art fair?
I came to the role from the gallery perspective. I was initially working very closely with all the galleries that participated in the fair, and that’s been quite instrumental for the growth of the business and how we’ve strategically expanded. We feel very strongly that what we do is for galleries—they remain our core constituents. A part of my role is to try and make sure that the Frieze voice is maintained and carried through all that we do.
As Frieze Abu Dhabi gets ready for its opening in November, it’s been an unsettling time for the Middle East. How are you navigating that?
We’re approaching the situation with open communication with all our galleries and collectors, both in the region and around the world, because it is another international fair. There’s a strong appetite for the upcoming fair and it’s an important milestone for us and the region. We’re cognizant of the context, and we’re in close contact with our local partners to ensure that everything runs very smoothly. Frieze Abu Dhabi follows the same logic as every other fair that we’ve started. It is a combination of a very specific cultural moment for that city as well as an opportunity for galleries. Abu Dhabi as a city offers an existing infrastructure and credibility—it has built a very ambitious ecosystem on Saadiyat Island, where the fair will take place, and it includes world class museums such as Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Zayed National Museum, the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opening in December.
The fair has existed for 17 years, but with our takeover, we’re bringing the Frieze expertise and scaling it internationally by building on solid foundations in the region, which already has an engaged community. Abu Dhabi is rapidly growing with artists, galleries and collectors—the ingredients are all there.
Have any galleries dropped out of the fair because of what’s happening politically?
We have had transparent conversations with everyone involved. With every fair, there’s a level of flexibility with the gallery list. We have a full fair; everyone who’s participating is bringing very high-quality work, and part of that is shaped by the fact that we’re always working with talented curators and partners. We will have our usual Focus section for younger galleries and Freeze Masters Abu Dhabi is curated by Marika Sardar with the idea of exploring the history of cultural exchanges across the Indian Ocean. Global Futures, curated by Tarini Malik, will focus on cultural histories from the region.
It’s been 10 years since Brexit was announced. How has this affected Frieze London and Masters?
The facts speak for themselves. The UK remains the second-largest art market globally, after the US, where we’re also heavily present. By nature, we operate across different continents and cities, meaning that we have to constantly adjust to the changing landscapes of different regions. London is where it all started, and there’s such a good understanding of the opportunities that are possible here. We’ve been able to capitalize on the rich ecosystem that supports the fair.