The global art calendar: nine events to watch in late 2026
From Venice and London to Bangkok, Dakar and Miami Beach, the final months of 2026 offer an unusually international programme of art fairs, biennials and exhibitions. For Nicole Junkermann, also known as Nicole Brachetti Peretti, founder of the Nicole Brachetti Peretti Collection, the most interesting events are often those that do more than assemble familiar names. They create space for artists from different cultures to interpret the world around them, challenge established perspectives and reach audiences beyond the traditional centres of the art market.
The Nicole Brachetti Peretti Collection has always approached art as a way of seeing more clearly. Its particular interest in emerging international artists and Latin American art reflects Nicole’s belief that collecting carries a responsibility: to pay attention to artists before consensus forms around them, and to support work that might one day help define how an era is understood.
These are nine events that she and the Collection will be following with particular interest over the months ahead.
Venice Biennale, Venice
Until 22 November 2026
The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled In Minor Keys, remains one of the defining events in the international contemporary art calendar. Taking place across the Giardini, Arsenale and venues throughout Venice, the Biennale brings together national presentations, major institutional projects and artists whose work may be encountered by a global audience for the first time.
Nicole Junkermann is particularly interested in the way the Venice Biennale places distinct artistic traditions in conversation without requiring them to arrive at a common conclusion. That openness reflects the philosophy of the Nicole Brachetti Peretti Collection, which sees art as a means of exploring the contradictions of contemporary life rather than simplifying them.
Toronto Biennial of Art, Toronto
26 September to 20 December 2026
The fourth Toronto Biennial of Art will unfold across sites throughout the Canadian city. Curated by Allison Glenn, the 2026 edition brings together more than 30 artists and collectives from Canada and around the world, with newly commissioned works responding to the city and its different communities.
Its city-wide and publicly accessible model is one reason it stands out to Nicole. Rather than separating contemporary art from everyday life, the Toronto Biennial allows work to be encountered across a living, changing city. It also gives artists the time and space to engage with local histories, identities and tensions in greater depth.
Frieze London and Frieze Masters, London
14 to 18 October 2026
Frieze London and Frieze Masters return to Regent’s Park with almost 300 galleries from 48 countries and regions. Together, the two fairs place new contemporary work alongside art from across different periods, creating a valuable dialogue between emerging practices and established art history.
For Nicole, London’s importance lies partly in the breadth of its artistic ecosystem. The fairs themselves are only one part of a wider week of exhibitions, conversations and encounters across the city. Frieze also provides an opportunity to look beyond the most visible names and consider which artists, galleries and ideas are beginning to acquire lasting significance.
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London
15 to 18 October 2026
Held at Somerset House during Frieze week, the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair is dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its global diaspora. Its focused approach has helped artists and galleries enter a broader international conversation while preserving the cultural and intellectual contexts from which their work emerges.
Nicole is excited by platforms that broaden the geography of the art world rather than simply reproducing its existing hierarchies. 1-54 offers collectors an opportunity to discover individual practices, but its greater value lies in demonstrating the depth, variety and international relevance of contemporary African art.
Art Basel Paris, Paris
23 to 25 October 2026
Art Basel Paris returns to the Grand Palais for its fifth edition, following preview days beginning on 21 October. The fair has quickly become an anchor for Paris’s autumn cultural calendar, connecting major international galleries with the city’s museums, foundations, artists and historic collections.
What interests Nicole most is the opportunity to see contemporary practice within the wider cultural landscape of Paris. The city encourages connections between art, architecture, fashion, photography and design, making the fair part of a much richer exchange than the activity inside the exhibition halls alone.
Bangkok Art Biennale, Bangkok
29 October 2026 to 28 February 2027
The fifth Bangkok Art Biennale will present contemporary art across museums, public spaces, temples and heritage sites throughout the Thai capital. Titled Angels and Mara, the 2026 edition will explore opposing forces and states of mind while bringing Thai, Asian and international artists into conversation.
This use of the city is especially compelling to Nicole because it allows contemporary work to interact with places carrying their own spiritual, social and architectural meaning. Bangkok offers a setting in which tradition and experimentation don’t need to be treated as opposites, giving artists an unusually layered environment in which to work.
Paris Photo, Paris
12 to 15 November 2026
The 29th edition of Paris Photo will take place at the Grand Palais during the bicentenary year of photography. Alongside gallery presentations, the programme will include conversations, publications, awards and Elles × Paris Photo, an initiative intended to increase the visibility of women photographers.
Photography holds a distinctive place within any contemporary collection because it records the world while also revealing how selectively people see it. Nicole is looking forward to an edition that considers both the history of the medium and its expanding future, including the ways artists are responding to new technologies, changing ideas of authorship and the sheer abundance of images in modern life.
Frieze Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi
20 to 22 November 2026
The first Frieze Abu Dhabi will take place at Manarat Al Saadiyat, with a preview on 19 November. Developed from the foundations of Abu Dhabi Art, the new fair will bring galleries from the Middle East and the wider international art world together at a moment of significant cultural growth across the Gulf.
Nicole is especially excited to see how the fair develops its own identity rather than importing a model from elsewhere. Abu Dhabi has invested patiently in museums, cultural institutions and artistic education. Frieze Abu Dhabi now has an opportunity to connect that institutional ambition with galleries, artists and collectors from across the region.
Dak’Art, Dakar
19 November to 19 December 2026
The 16th Dakar Biennale, known as Dak’Art, will return to the Senegalese capital for a month-long presentation of contemporary African art. As one of the continent’s most important recurring cultural events, Dak’Art provides a platform shaped from within Africa rather than primarily through institutions in Europe or North America.
That independence is central to its importance. Nicole believes that a genuinely international art world needs institutions capable of setting their own agendas, developing their own critical conversations and identifying artistic importance on their own terms. Dak’Art offers precisely that possibility.
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami
4 to 6 December 2026
Art Basel Miami Beach will close the major international fair calendar with galleries drawn from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Its position between the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America gives the fair a cultural character distinct from Art Basel’s European and Asian editions.
Given the Collection’s longstanding interest in Latin American art, Miami remains an especially important point in the calendar for Nicole. The most rewarding discoveries often take place beyond the main fair, across satellite events, museums, private collections and presentations that reflect the city’s multilingual and multicultural identity.
Looking beyond the established map
Taken together, these events reveal an art world that is becoming more geographically expansive, even if access, representation and institutional influence remain unevenly distributed. London, Paris, Venice and Miami continue to command attention, but Bangkok, Dakar, Toronto and Abu Dhabi are helping to create a calendar with more centres of gravity.
That change is a source of genuine excitement for Nicole Junkermann. The purpose of an international art collection isn’t simply to follow the market from one established event to another. It is to remain curious, to seek out artists working beyond familiar frames of reference and to recognise that some of the most important cultural conversations may be taking place far from the places that once claimed the authority to define them.