Kyoto Art Fair Draws 63 Galleries, but November Is Only the Start

By Daniel Okafor

Art Collaboration Kyoto’s sixth, three-day fair closed with 63 galleries from 18 countries and regions at the Kyoto International Conference Center, according to Masako Ohishi, ACK’s director of public affairs.

The gallery count slipped from a record 72 last year. Ohishi said organizers reduced it to open the booth layout and prioritized fair quality and depth over participation numbers. ACK described the sixth edition as its most ambitious slate to date. The arithmetic is mixed; the stated intent is tidier.

Can Kyoto turn a three-day fair into a year-round hub?

Every November, tourists arrive for the city’s famous autumn foliage. In recent years, art professionals have joined them for ACK, which pairs Japanese and international galleries in shared booths.

Ohishi said simultaneous art programs rose from about 33 at the 2021 launch to more than 100 this year. They now run in galleries, museums and unconventional venues. ACK also revamped its leadership structure and public programs.

ACK’s larger ambition is to use Kyoto’s cultural appeal to secure a lasting place on the international art circuit.

Some joint presentations rested on friendships; others had already produced new ones. This year’s roster paired Jeffrey Deitch (New York and Los Angeles) with Nanzuka (Tokyo), and Shibunkaku (Kyoto) with Neugerriemschneider (Berlin).

ACK’s presentation model now functions as a temporary cultural district, with artworks occupying aisles and public space instead of remaining inside conventional sales booths. Under its “Interventions” program, curator Leonhard Bartolomeus tucked pieces into unexpected corners.

His theme, “Out of Bounds,” drew partly on video games and asked what happens when a character moves beyond a map’s edge. The format rewarded visitors who looked beyond the standard stands.

What do the sales and temple shows reveal?

Hauser & Wirth brought to ACK for the first time with Tokyo gallery Taro Nasu. Their booth focused on text and language through work by Louise Bourgeois, Jenny Holzer, Glenn Ligon and Marcel Broodthaers.

Yuta Nakajima, a Hauser & Wirth senior director and partner, said both galleries represent Pierre Huyghe and had worked together before. He said ACK’s collaborative format provided an ideal framework for building on their existing mutual respect.

ACK reported the following sales:

• A Marcel Broodthaers work sold for €65,000 ($72,800).
• A Glenn Ligon print sold for $32,000.
• Keita Morimoto’s works sold out at the booth shared by Kotaro Nukaga and Almine Rech, at $40,000 to $70,000 apiece.
• Imura Art Gallery sold nine Shiro Tsujimura ceramic tea bowls at ¥1 million ($6,300) each in the Kyoto Meetings section.

The reported prices suggest active buying, but one fair’s handful of sales cannot establish the depth, liquidity or year-round resilience of an entire regional art market. The figures are useful markers, not a market census.

Beyond the convention center, fair presentations moved into temples with centuries-old histories. Hauser & Wirth and local gallery Oscaar Mouligne jointly presented Lorna Simpson in a gallery space and at Daiko-in, part of the Daitoku-ji temple complex. Simpson created a new collage inspired by a Japanese tale she remembered from childhood.

Nearby, at Korin-in, Carlos/Ishikawa showed Issy Wood and Evelyn Taocheng Wang. Modern Art and Ingleby Gallery presented Andrew Cranston at Ryosoku-in. The program treated those spaces as meaningful context, not simply photogenic settings for satellite shows.

“Kyoto occupies a unique position in Japan’s cultural ecosystem,” Nakajima said. “Its art scene isn’t trying to duplicate Tokyo’s market dynamics; instead, it provides a space for slow viewing, institutional research, and nuanced cultural dialogue.”

Can craft and public policy sustain the momentum?

Kogei means traditional craft. City-backed Curation⇄Fair Kyoto expanded from 19 exhibitors last year to 33 this year. It showed antiquities, craft and contemporary art across three temples. Tokyo Art Club’s Kogei Gene project and Maastricht University announced a March 2027 educational program to connect Japanese art and craft professionals with international networks.

Government support has driven Kyoto’s ambitions. In 2023, Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs moved its headquarters to the city. Kyoto had been a center of artistic patronage before Tokyo became Japan’s political and commercial hub in the mid-19th century. Kyoto Prefecture sits on ACK’s organizing committee. Government agencies also promote Kyoto Art Month, linking events across October and November.

Public institutions have supplied infrastructure, historical legitimacy and a policy framework, yet the private test will be whether dealers, collectors and artists schedule regular returns.

Investment extends beyond the autumn calendar. TeamLab Biovortex Kyoto opened near Kyoto Station in 2025. Across the street, Superblue plans to open a venue in early 2027 with a James Turrell exhibition. Both projects belong to a city-backed plan to revitalize the neighborhood through art and culture.

Will the momentum survive after November?

A packed month and a handful of reported sales do not yet make a year-round market. The hard part starts when temporary booths disappear and festival attention must convert into regular professional visits, year-round programming and sustained sales beyond ACK’s three-day calendar.

Ohishi said: “We want to share with the world a ‘Kyoto model’ in which culture and the market enhance each other’s value.” In five years, she hopes Kyoto will be firmly established as one of Asia’s leading hubs of exchange, where art professionals from around the world gather on an ongoing basis and new creation and collaboration happen year-round.

Until dealers and collectors return outside ACK’s three-day window, Kyoto has a well-supported fair, not a proven year-round market. The calendar remains the test.