Latin American galleries dominate at Frieze New York

Latin American galleries withdrew from US art fairs during the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency due to uncertainty over tariffs and visas. Participation has since risen at Frieze New York, with 14 galleries from Mexico, Argentina, and other countries joining the fair. Nonprofit support and targeted efforts by the Frieze Americas team helped bring more Latin American galleries to the event. Brazilian nonprofit Latitude supported eight Brazilian galleries, with additional funding directed toward emerging galleries, as shipping costs increased sharply. Some galleries re-committed to US fairs after sales slowed at fairs in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina. Established Brazilian gallerists acknowledged the US is difficult to be in amid heightened Brazil-US tensions, but viewed it as a central art-world hub.

"Last year, in the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency, gallerists from Latin America pulled their participation from art fairs across the US as uncertainty regarding tariffs and visas made attendance untenably risky. But this year, we are seeing a surge in participation among Latin American galleries at Frieze New York. The presence of 14 galleries-from Mexico, Argentina and points in between-is the result of non-profit support, a concerted effort by the Frieze Americas team to bring more Latin American galleries to the fair and the growth of galleries in the region."

"Anamaria Boschi, a project manager with Latitude, a nonprofit that supports the internationalisation of Brazilian galleries, says that last year "gallerists were saying, 'If I can't bring my artists, why would I go [to fairs in the US]?'2" But as some fairs in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina have seen slowing sales, many galleries from the region have decided to re-commit to participating in US expos. Latitude, a partnership between ApexBrasil and ABACT, provided support to all eight Brazilian galleries showing at Frieze this year, with more support being funnelled to emergent galleries."

"For established Brazilian gallerists who have been bringing their work to Frieze for years, the increased tensions between Brazil and the US have been difficult to stomach. Last year, the Trump administration slapped Brazil with a 50% tariff on imports to the US in an apparent move to pressure President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to spare his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro prison time for his role in an attempted coup. "It's not our favourite place to be right now, but this is the hegemonic centre of the art world," says Márcia Fortes, a founding partner of the Brazilian gallery Fortes, D'Aloia & Gabriel."

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