Frieze Masters has shifted its balance toward art from the Global South, giving galleries and artists from non-Western regions a bigger footprint at the London fair this year, according to The Art Newspaper. The change shows up most clearly in the fair’s Spotlight section, where solo presentations from overlooked artists and underrepresented regions have taken on greater weight, and in early sales reported from galleries new to the fair.
The fair runs through Oct. 18 in Regent’s Park, and buyers from the Global South are described as an increasingly powerful presence on the floor, according to the report.
What’s Happening At Frieze Masters
The Spotlight section at Frieze Masters is built around solo booths that highlight artists and regions that have historically gotten less attention from major fairs. Devika Singh, the section’s co-organiser, is a former South Asian specialist curator at Tate who now lectures at the Courtauld Institute. Singh selected six galleries specializing in South Asian art for this year’s lineup, according to The Art Newspaper.
That selection brought in dealers who had never shown at Frieze Masters before. Akara Modern, exhibiting at the fair for the first time, pre-sold two wooden wall-based works by Piraji Sagara to Indian collectors, with prices ranging from £40,000 to £250,000. Another wooden sculpture by an artist shown at the fair sold to an Indian buyer as the event opened, and a final piece from the group went to a buyer outside India, per the report.
Loft Art Gallery, based in Marrakech and Casablanca, is also new to Frieze Masters this year. The gallery is showing work by Mohamed Melehi, a Moroccan artist whose influence the report describes as only beginning to register in the West. Loft Art Gallery has said its goal is reaching a wider clientele, according to The Art Newspaper.
Why The Global South Focus Is Growing
The shift reflects a fair actively building infrastructure, through sections like Spotlight and curators like Singh, to bring non-Western galleries into a market that has traditionally centered on European and American material. For galleries such as Akara Modern and Loft Art Gallery, a first appearance at Frieze Masters offers access to collectors they might not otherwise reach, and the early sales suggest that access is translating into business.
Jonathan Mansie of Alison Jacques described the fair’s buyers as “a very discerning clientele,” and noted that conversations with collectors often continue beyond the fair weekend itself, according to The Art Newspaper. That dynamic matters for newer exhibitors, since sales tied to a Frieze Masters appearance do not always close during the four days the fair is open.
The report also notes that some collectors held off on attending Frieze Masters until the weekend, with plans to travel on to Art Basel Paris afterward, suggesting the fair operates as one stop in a broader circuit for Global South and international buyers alike.
Where The Numbers Stand
Pricing at the fair varied widely. Gallery Isabelle priced its Ave works under $30,000, keeping work from Global South-focused presentations accessible relative to some of the fair’s marquee material. By comparison, a Josef Albers piece at Maruani Mercier carried a price of €1.5 million, and Hauser & Wirth sold a Jan Brueghel the Elder floral still life for around £5 million, both well outside the Global South-focused price points and part of the fair’s longstanding blue-chip Western market.
The Piraji Sagara sales at Akara Modern’s booth, ranging from £40,000 to £250,000, sit in between those extremes, showing that Global South material at Frieze Masters spans a meaningful price range rather than occupying a single tier.
What’s Next
Frieze Masters continues in Regent’s Park through Oct. 18. Collectors moving on from London have Art Basel Paris on their itinerary afterward, according to the report, extending the circuit for buyers tracking both Global South and Western material this fall.
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