VOLTA comes of age and ushers in a new decade of discovery with its 21st Edition | 17–21 June 2026
VOLTA Basel 2026
Hall 4.U, Congress Center, Basel
17 - 21 June 2026
VIP Preview Day: 17 June, 10am-2pm
After its most successful edition to date, VOLTA returns to Basel from 17 - 21 June 2026. Entering its third decade of fostering cutting-edge creativity, the fair has long been a springboard for emerging talent and an incubator for ideas that shape the future of contemporary art. Located just a two-minute walk from Art Basel and the central Messeplatz, VOLTA Basel 2026 is set to showcase a dynamic mix of established and emerging artists and gallerists from across the globe.
Image: Courtesy of VOLTA Art Fairs. Credit: Casey Kelbaugh CKA
For its 21st edition, VOLTA Basel will enter a new chapter led by Artistic Director, Lee Cavaliere, who comments:
“I am thrilled to lead VOLTA into its next decade in our home in the Hall 4.U, Congress Center, right in the heart of Art Week. The fair returns to Basel for a 21st edition with renewed energy and vigour, as we see the emerging and mid-career artists retaining incredible energy across the international art market. With renewed optimism, we celebrate and reaffirm our core ethos: platforming underrepresented voices and engaging with the societal concerns reflected in the work of our presenting artists.
We’re excited to welcome returning international galleries, and to introduce new voices to the VOLTA story. A core group of Swiss galleries will highlight the fair’s strong connection with Basel, and we will again work closely with our loyal audience, advisors, and partners in the city. Visitors will encounter exceptional art, thoughtful curation, and extensive programming; an invitation to engage, discover, and join the conversation.”
The next edition of VOLTA looks to reframe ideas of home and of nationhood, showcasing the ways in which artists interpret their cultural histories, sense of locality and connection to the land. It will reflect on how personal and collective histories shape our understanding of home in a constantly shifting global political landscape.
The EMERGE + ENGAGE program will continue to create a space for further conversations to unfold in real time. Through encounters, exchanges, and activations that connect audiences to new ideas, VOLTA aims to demonstrate what it means to collect, create and connect with intention.
A new section: Frische!
Frische!, highlights bold and innovative approaches from emerging galleries, and those with distinctive curatorial methods. A dynamic and energetic group, showcasing fresh voices and experimental practices at the forefront of the contemporary art market.
The 2026 VOLTA Pavilion
A new curatorial theme for a dedicated Pavilion will be revealed soon: a curated section of artists from a specific geocultural region will focus on the deep interconnection between the artists and their landscape. For the past edition, the Pavilion was dedicated to the MENA region, curated by Randa Sadaka and at VOLTA New York in 2024, the fair presented a Ukrainian Pavilion in partnership with RAZOM.
Liebs Basel, Viele Dangg, VOLTA: Complimentary day for Basel Residents
The love letter to Basel continues: the 2026 edition of VOLTA will again pay tribute to Basel, its founding city. Basel residents will be invited to experience VOLTA with complimentary access as a gesture of appreciation for the city's long-standing support of the fair. Timings will be announced soon.
In June 2025, the fair celebrated its most successful edition to date, welcoming over 10,000 culturally engaged visitors who explored the fair, discovered new artists and acquired fresh works. For its 20th anniversary last year, VOLTA moved into a new central venue – Hall 4.U in the Congress Center - showcasing more than 70 galleries from 29 countries, whilst still retaining its distinctive boutique character. VOLTA reinforced its position as a hub for collectors seeking fresh, compelling voices in the emerging contemporary art market, encouraging visitors to discover new talent and build meaningful connections with gallerists and artists alike.
What the press said:
“Alternative art fair VOLTA is known for promoting cutting-edge creativity”
— MONOCLE
“VOLTA - A stalwart Basel satellite fair, celebrates major anniversary”
— THE ART NEWSPAPER
— MONOPOL
— BELLEVUE NZZ
See the 2025 press highlight here.
For media enquiries, please contact:
International Media:
Alfonso Cabello
Pickles PR
alfonso@picklespr.com
Vassia Gkogkou
Pickles PR
vassia@picklespr.com
DACH Media:
Manuela Schlumpf
manuela@picklespr.com
Contact at VOLTA Basel:
Emily Bunn
VOLTA Marketing Manager
press@voltashow.com
Notes to Editors:
About VOLTA Art Fairs
As a globally recognized contemporary art fair, VOLTA powers artistic discovery and is part of the Ramsay Fairs group. Founded in 2005 in Basel, the fair presents art collectors with the opportunity to discover and connect with international artists and their stories. With VOLTA, art collectors and art enthusiasts can acquire emerging artistic talent and work that reflects the changing world we live in.
At its heart, VOLTA is about the power of community coming together in real life. As an internationally focussed fair, VOLTA brings together a diverse range of artists and gallerists from across the globe to one place, one moment, during Art Week in Basel. It is the springboard for the upward trajectory of many. These stories reflect the world that we live in – its environmental, societal challenges, its beauty and hope and stories of global identities and dialogues within these contexts. The fair has long been a springboard for emerging talent and an incubator for ideas that shape the future of contemporary art.
In 2026, VOLTA will return to Basel from June 17 to 21, Congress Center, Hall 4.U, Messeplatz 21, to celebrate its 21st anniversary edition.
Applications are open now:
VOLTA welcomes applications from emerging to mid-career galleries looking to shape the fair’s next exciting chapter together (closing date: 18 December 2025).
More information about applications here.
VOLTA Basel 2026 Opening Hours
Wednesday 17th June
VIP Preview:10-8pm
Invite only until 2pm, paid tickets available at 2pm
Thursday 18th June
Public Hours: 10am-7pm
Friday 19th June
Public Hours: 10-8pm
Saturday 20th June
Public Hours: 11-7pm
Sunday 21st June
Public Hours: 11-6pm
Tickets on sale at the start of April.
Follow us on Instagram at @voltaartfairs for ticket offers and further news from our galleries and artists.