Friends of Galleries (FOG), a collective of five Austin galleries, has banded together to create the Friends Fair, a new art fair taking place at The Loren Hotel at Lady Bird Lake.
In 2024, grayDUCK, Ivester Contemporary, Martha’s, McLennon Pen Co., and Northern-Southern formed FOG. The idea behind the collective was to build community and collaboration while celebrating Austin’s growing arts community.
Friends Fair will debut on Thursday, May 15 and run through Saturday, May 17, concurrently with the Affordable Art Fair, which returns to Austin this year for its second year. The trend of locally-run art fairs scheduling their events around already established fairs is not uncommon. In 2023, the Dallas Invitational Art Fair, organized by James Cope but which invites international galleries to the area, launched its debut concurrently with the Dallas Art Fair. Similarly, in 2022, the Fort Worth Art Fair held its inaugural event during the Main Street Art Festival.
Friends Fair will be held on two floors of The Loren Hotel, and each participating gallery will curate individual rooms. The five Austin galleries have welcomed five nonlocal galleries to join Friends Fair. The additional galleries include 12.26 (Dallas, Los Angeles), Dutton (New York), Half Gallery (New York), Inman Gallery (Houston), and Megan Mulrooney Gallery (Los Angeles). Taylor Danielle Davis, an independent curator, will also curate a space in this year’s fair.
An invitation-only preview will be held on Thursday, May 15, with official fair dates of Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17, from Noon to 6 p.m. The fair is free and open to the public.
Events such as talks, performances, and a group art run hosted by Austin’s Artist Run Club will be announced closer to the fair’s start date. Learn more about Friends Fair via Instagram and Bluesky.
