12PM​: Everywhen in Practice: Representing Contemporary Aboriginal Art Across Time, Place and Platform​.

This panel will explore the Everywhen: Contemporary Aboriginal Art Pavilion and introduce the audience to Aboriginal concepts expressed through a wide range of artistic practices presented at the VOLTA Pavilion.

Speakers: Adam Knight, Founder, Adam Knight Fine Art; Konstantina, Artist, represented by Arts d’Australie • Stéphane Jacob; Jasmine Coe, Founder, Coe Gallery; Onome Ekeh, FHNW, Institute of Gender, Art and Nature. Moderator: Tamsin Hong, Curator, Serpentine

2PM: Shifting Grounds: Geopolitics and the Evolving Global Market

This panel will examine the shifting geopolitical dynamics shaping the global art market over the past year. The discussion will explore key developments, including market volatility, evolving collector behaviour, and the increasing democratisation of access to art.

Speakers: Lee Cavaliere, Artistic Director, VOLTA; Emilia de Stasio, Founder, Artscapy; Anders Petterson, Founder & CEO, ArtTac; Adriano Picinati di Torcello, Director, Global Art & Finance, Deloitte.
Moderator: Tallulah Bär, Cultural Strategist, Afroswissters

Friday 19 June, Saturday 20 June, 12pm
Tours will be led by Dr. Gal Harmat, senior researcher at swisspeace and will be an intriguing art-led discourse on peace building, geopolitics and cultural identity. The group will visit over 20 galleries on the fair floor.​​​
Tickets available via our ticket shop as an 'Add-On' option CHF 25.​

Sunday 21 June, 12pm​
A curated tour with VOLTAs Artistic Director, Lee Cavaliere of the fair highlights. Tickets available via our ticket shop as an 'Add-On' option CHF 25.​

A curated selection of artworks priced at and under CHF 5,000, The 5000 Edit reflects VOLTAs longstanding commitment to the emerging market - creating opportunities to discover new artists and make informed, meaningful acquisitions. Developed in response to the thriving under $50,000 segment of the market, the initiative offers an entry point for new and evolving collectors, while supporting artists at a pivotal stage in their practice. 

Bringing together over 30 galleries, The 5000 edit presents a diverse selection of works available to discover both at the fair and online. 

Artwork: Julia Faber, Air-Flower, 2025, Oil on wood Ø 32cm. Courtesy RODLER GSCHWENTER GALLERY

Explore VOLTA’s Curatorial highlights, from spotlighting experimental curatorial practices from emerging galleries in new section Frische!; encouraging cross-cultural dialogue through a dedication Pavilion Everywhen: Contemporary Aboriginal Art; and celebrating the presence of 15 Swiss galleries. VOLTA presents collectors with the opportunity to discover and connect with international artists and their stories.

Discover the 2026 Curatorial Highlights here.

Artwork: FU-Hau Shiuan, In the Palm of One’s Hand, 2025, oil on canvas, 72 x 90cm. Courtesy Donna Art

Friday 19 June, 5 – 8PM  ​

Explore the fair to the backdrop of DJ Alma Negra. Artists will be present in room for Frische! Friday so join us to explore exceptional emerging talent and speak directly to discover the inspiration behind their work. Complimentary cocktails will be served by Ale & Bread on a first come, first served basis.

Friday 18 - Sunday 21 June, 2 - 4PM

VOLTA’s love letter to Basel continues. In partnership with This is Basel, the 2026 edition of VOLTA will again pay tribute to the fair’s founding city. Basel residents are invited to experience VOLTA with complimentary access from 19 - 21 June, 2 - 4PM, as a gesture of appreciation for the city's long-standing support of the fair. 

Experience a performance by Korean artist Sori Choi, represented by Art in Dongsan (Seoul, South Korea), who will present a short percussion-based performance connected to his VISIBLE SOUND practice. In collaboration with Ballett Basel, a performance of a duet from Marco Goecke’s “Nachtmerrie” will take place on Friday 19 June.

VOLTA is proud to present Flowing Upstream a project by Martin Wöllenstein in collaboration with Supreme Masqueraders Society (Ghana) andImpari (Germany) and curated by CarlosCabral Nunes, director of Perve Galeria, Lisbon.

Flowing Upstream is a multidisciplinary exhibition project that uses discarded costumes from West Africa’s largest carnival—the Ankos Masquerade in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana— as its primary material. Each year, more than 10,000 costumes are handcrafted by different masquerade associations for the festival. After the event, many of these costumes are discarded or resold. In collaboration with Ghana’s largest masquerade club, the Supreme Masqueraders Society, hundreds of discarded costumes were dismantled and reassembled into patchwork textiles. In the exhibition, these textiles function as modular, mobile walls, forming an immersive architectural maze. The version presented at VOLTA is a smaller iteration of the original installation, which is ten times larger in scale.

Live performances will take place around the installation at VOLTA at:
Wednesday 17 June, 5PM
Friday 19 June, 3:30PM & 6PM
Saturday 20 June, 3:30PM