![\"Installation\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Teyu-Wang_main_new.jpg\")
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One of this year’s highlights at Liste, the Taiwanese gallery ssspacespace brings to Basel the installation “No. 72” (2013), by Teyu Wang. <\/p>\n
Courtesy of Teyu Wang \/ Kalos Gallery and ssspacespace <\/p>\n
Once a fringe alternative, Liste Art Fair BaselExternal link<\/a> has grown into a vital platform for emerging galleries worldwide, showing that success on the contemporary art fair circuit doesn\u2019t have to follow the market\u2019s usual playbook. <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n June 15, 2026 – 09:00\n<\/p>\n \n As an online editor at the Portuguese department who is in charge of SWI swissinfo.ch’s culture coverage, I work as reporter, editor, art & film critic, while also coordinating freelance collaborations. With an unlimited travel budget, you could spend every day of the year at a different art fair somewhere in the world. There are now more than 300 of them, collectively sustaining an art market with an annual turnover of $59.6 billion ($47.5 billion) \u2013 down slightly from its post-pandemic peak of $67.8 billion \u2013 yet still buoyed by strong individual sales, with around 41.4 million transactions recorded in 2025.<\/p>\n Led by the behemoths Art Basel and Frieze, the art fair market has consolidated in the last decade. The leading fairs have either expanded or been swallowed by big investment groups. Art fairs became hubs for all the market players \u2013 dealers, curators, collectors, heads of museums, and public and private collections \u2013 except for the artists themselves.<\/p>\n However, one small, irrepressible independent art fair bucks this global trend. Born in the shadow of Art Basel, Liste developed into a non-profit foundation to keep the principles that guided its conception 30 years ago \u2013 namely, to offer space and visibility to young artists and galleries who lack prominent platforms to show their works to the market\u2019s big players. <\/p>\n It is more than just another art fair, says Liste\u2019s director, Nikola Dietrich. \u201cWe see ourselves first and foremost as a support system; in fact, we have different support systems,\u201d she tells Swissinfo at her office in Basel\u2019s Old Town.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s event\u00a0runs from\u00a0June\u00a015 to 21\u00a0at Messe Basel.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Nurturing new art<\/p>\n The fair relies on a circle of \u201cfriends of Liste\u201d to support dealers and artists who bring more ambitious projects to Basel, or who come from less privileged countries in Asia, Africa, or Latin America. \u201cWe have unfortunately, also this year, not so many galleries from these regions because it\u2019s getting more and more difficult for them,\u201d Dietrich explains.<\/p>\n This is also an impediment for the more established galleries in Art Basel\u2019s roster. Apart from the fair\u2019s costs, transportation and insurance, they must also cover a full week of Swiss living costs. Dietrich says that the \u201cfriends of Liste\u201d, with their yearly contributions, can support the presence of around 12 to 15 galleries.<\/p>\n Prices of booths at Liste have risen slightly in recent years and now range from CHF7,500 to CHF13,000. For comparison, booths at Art Basel range from $25,000 to over $200,000, depending on the fair location, the size of the space and the specific exhibition sector.<\/p>\n Novelties of Liste 2026:<\/p>\n Previous <\/p>\n Next <\/p>\n \u201cNe plus ultra \/ My lonely particle\u201d (2025) by American artist Isaac Soh Fujita Howell, brought by Liste debutante gallery S\u00e9bastien Bertrand (Geneva). <\/p>\n Nicola Morittu, All Rights Reserved <\/p>\n Mookmintra Jariyavidyanont, \u201cTalisman\u201d (2026), brought by Gallery Ver, Bangkok. <\/p>\n Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Ver <\/p>\n \u201cWhite Buds of Tuberose in a Dark Night\u201d (2025) by Natalie Sasi Organ \u2013 ara contemporary (Jakarta). <\/p>\n Courtesy of the Artist and ara contemporary <\/p>\n From China, gallery Hua International (Beijing\/Berlin) brings \u201cThe Eyes Serve as the Wellspring of Tears\u201d (2022), by Shi Yi. <\/p>\n Courtesy of the Artist and Hua International <\/p>\n Elina Vainio, \u201cVacant\u201d (2025), at Pitted Dates (Helsinki). <\/p>\n Jason Mandella \/ Courtesy of the Artist, Ulterior Gallery and Pitted Dates <\/p>\n From Yeo Workshop (Singapore \u2013 its second year at Liste) \u201cSanded Perth\u201d (2025) by Wei Leng Tay. <\/p>\n Courtesy of Yeo Workshop <\/p>\n The concept before the market<\/p>\n As a supporting platform for younger galleries, Liste\u2019s selection process is not much different from other art fairs, but more emphasis is put on the quality and ambition of the proposals. Even galleries with long presence at Liste must apply every year.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than focusing primarily on market positioning, the selection committee evaluates carefully developed concepts that are almost like little exhibition concepts,\u201d Dietrich says, adding that Liste receives around 300 applications a year. This year there will be 105 galleries at Liste, up from 96 in 2025.<\/p>\n Dietrich also has a team of \u201cscouts\u201d who give advice on artists and galleries. \u201cThey go to different regions of the world where I might not have the access or a deeper, more specific knowledge,\u201d she says. \u201cThey give me input about who is really relevant to look at. It might be galleries that are opening, or galleries that are changing their program in an interesting or edgy way, or galleries that work with artists who might have been overlooked for many different reasons. The most typical reasons are because they are women, but also artists who are not in, nor have access to the centres of art production.\u201d<\/p>\n Liste director Nikola Dietrich. <\/p>\n Silke Briel <\/p>\n The director-curator <\/p>\n Born in the German town of Radolfzell, near the Swiss border on Lake Constance, Nikola Dietrich took part in the prestigious de Appel Curatorial Training ProgrammeExternal link<\/a> in Amsterdam before joining the even more selective curatorial workshop of the FridericianumExternal link<\/a> in Kassel, Germany, led by the gallerist, collector, editor and curator Ren\u00e9 Block. Having worked with the postwar avant-gardes, notably with Fluxus, Block taught his pupils to \u201cthink beyond strict formats\u201d, Dietrich recalls. From there, she took over the curatorship of PortikusExternal link<\/a> in Frankfurt (\u201cthe most influential 100m2 in the contemporary art world\u201d), before moving to the Basel Museum of Fine Arts (Kunstmuseum) where she took the position of chief-curator of contemporary art (Museum f\u00fcr Gegenwartskunst, 2018-23). Liste 2026 is the second edition of the fair under her direction.<\/p>\n For an established contemporary arts curator, a post as director of an art fair \u2013 with the obvious subordination to market dictums \u2013 might have limited appeal. Most of the fairs, even those in which the artistic director used to be the top position, like Art Basel, now have CEOs running the show. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t direct any other art fair but Liste is a very special fair,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t see it as so different from my previous jobs because I was always very close to production of art.\u201d<\/p>\n The age of wild gallerists<\/p>\n When Liste was created in 1996, not many international art fairs existed, notably Art Basel, Art Chicago, and the world\u2019s oldest, Art Cologne. Even Frieze was then just an arts magazine.<\/p>\n One of the founders of Liste, Eva Presenhuber\u2019s gallery is present today in Zurich and Vienna, and also in Art Basel. <\/p>\n Serge Hoeltschi <\/p>\n Eva Presenhuber, one of Liste\u2019s founders, told Swissinfo that the initial goal was to create a dedicated platform for young galleries which were not accepted for Art Basel.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the idea for the fair when my gallery, Walcheturm (Zurich), was rejected by Art Basel, which I now understand was because we were simply too young. Inspired by an alternative art fair in Cologne called Unfair, I suggested that we do something similar. We named it Liste because galleries are essentially on a waiting list for Art Basel.\u201d<\/p>\n The art scene in Zurich in the late 1980s and early 1990s was quite different from today. As Presenhuber recalls, \u201cmany people were excited about contemporary art, but galleries targeting this segment were only starting to open. There was a sense of awakening in the air, and it was very exciting. People also held art shows in their apartments. For example, [Swiss art curator and critic] Hans Ulrich Obrist showed Fischli\/Weiss in his kitchen in St Gallen. There were also secret bars where the art crowd would go for drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n Eva Presenhuber and the young Zurich gallerist Peter Kilchmann teamed up with veteran Basel-based curator Peter Bl\u00e4uer, who found the original venue for their show: the Warteck, a former brewery that had become a creative hub for art, craft, design and performance in the 1990s. During the fair week, the tenants cleared their studios, workshops and offices to make space for the galleries.<\/p>\n The first Liste jury panel in 1996 (from left to right): Peter Bl\u00e4uer, Basel; Eva Presenhuber, Zurich; Maureen Paley, London; Fim Neuger, Berlin; Emi Fontana, Milan; Peter Kilchmann, Zurich; and Anne de Villepoix, Paris. <\/p>\n Liste Art Fair Basel <\/p>\n Art Basel frowns<\/p>\n \u201cThe buzz around the inaugural edition and its success exceeded everybody\u2019s expectations. David Zwirner, Gavin Brown or Neugerriemschneider, who are today among the most important art dealers in the world, were all there,\u201d Presenhuber says. All these galleries, as well as Presenhuber and Kilchmann, have thrived since and are now Art Basel fixtures.<\/p>\n Previous <\/p>\n Next <\/p>\n The poster of the first Liste, 1996. <\/p>\n Liste Art Fair Basel <\/p>\n Art fairs are for shopping, right? French artist Matthieu Laurette, on the right, poses next to his artwork \u201cThe Treebie King\u201d at LISTE 02, June 2002. <\/p>\n Keystone \/ Markus Stuecklin <\/p>\n A performance by JOKO, Karin JOst (right) and Regula KOpp (left) at the LISTE 97 stand of the ARS Futura Gallery from Zurich. <\/p>\n KEYSTONE\/Werner Getzmann <\/p>\n Performance of the Klara Theater group, 2000. <\/p>\n Liste Art Fair Basel <\/p>\n Manuela and Nora, the models pictured on the advertising poster of Liste 2007, pose during the fair, June 2007. <\/p>\n Keystone \/ Georgios Kefalas <\/p>\n \u201cAerial view\u201d of the Warteck grounds during Liste 1997. <\/p>\n Liste Art Fair Basel <\/p>\n The entry to the Warteck became an iconic view of alternative Basel during Art Basel. <\/p>\n Keystone \/ Markus Stuecklin <\/p>\n \u201cInitially, Art Basel wasn\u2019t particularly happy about us founding Liste, and I was afraid they would blacklist us,\u201d Presenhuber says. \u201cHowever, after the first year, they realised that Liste eased the pressure on the main fair to accept young galleries too early, as they often lack the necessary financial stability. In a way, Art Basel and Liste perfectly complemented each other.\u201d<\/p>\n So much so that Liste soon became a vital part of the Art Basel ecosystem. \u201cCollectors coming to Art Basel went to Liste to make discoveries,\u201d Presenhuber says. \u201cIn 1997 Art Basel launched their own young-gallery initiative called Statements. With smaller booths, solo shows and specialised projects, this new format immediately attracted many of our original participants, becoming a sort of bridge from Liste to Art Basel.\u201d<\/p>\n Seizing the space<\/p>\n The Covid-19 pandemic marked a turning point for the fair. The year 2020 was a blank, and amid the cautious reopening of 2021, Liste moved from the Warteck to a huge exhibition space next to Art Basel: Hall 1.1 of Messe Basel.<\/p>\n \u201cCovid was one reason, but the Warteck building posed some difficulties of its own,\u201d Dietrich says. \u201cEvery year we had to negotiate with all the different tenants to move out for ten days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cObviously for the visitor it was a lot of fun,\u201d she says. \u201cBut for the placement of the galleries, the slots were very uneven. Some would find themselves hidden in the basement or under the roof, which was very hot in summer.\u201d<\/p>\n The layout of Liste when it moved to the Hall 1.1: a central square surrounded by galleries surrounded by a huge void. <\/p>\n Gina Folly <\/p>\n Since moving into the exhibition halls at Messe Basel, Liste has been able to offer galleries a different spatial experience. The generous scale of the halls allows them to develop more ambitious installations and exhibition-like presentations, something that many participants have particularly appreciated.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the halls, there is the possibility to work with the architecture in different ways, so that the art can really come into its own,\u201d Dietrich says.<\/p>\n In the first years, the fair was organised around a circular architectural structure that created a distinctive centre and worked very well for that period. Over time, however, Dietrich and her team began to rethink the layout, opening up the structure.<\/p>\n Liste 2025: \u201cNow you have \u2018streets\u2019 instead of a central square, as different neighborhoods with a spine in the middle.\u201d <\/p>\n Gina Folly <\/p>\n Dietrich describes excitedly how she occupies the premises. \u201cOne of the advantages of the halls is that they allow us to continuously rethink how the fair is organised,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe opened up the circle and discovered new possibilities for presenting art. Suddenly, there were end walls and new sightlines, which led us to develop what we simply call the \u2018Wall\u2019 \u2013 ten-metre-long walls curated by non-profit and hybrid art spaces.<\/p>\n Geopolitics matters<\/p>\n As far as the art market is concerned, politics is rarely an impediment for business. Artwork displaying political messages rarely provoke much outrage. But Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had an impact in Basel and sparked a response.<\/p>\n Julia and Max Voloshyn. <\/p>\n Nicole Combeau <\/p>\n While many Russian galleries and collectors were sanctioned, Liste also decided to drop two Russian galleries from its roster and offer their booths to two Ukrainian galleries.<\/p>\n Julia Voloshyna, who founded the Voloshyn gallery together with her husband Max, told Swissinfo that \u201c2022 was a defining moment not only professionally, but in terms of what we believed art could do in a time of crisis\u201d. Some of the artists exhibited by Voloshyn were on the frontlines of the war.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cWe are deeply grateful for the connections Liste has made possible with collectors, curators, and fellow galleries from across the world,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n When Swissinfo first met the Voloshyns in 2022, they were constantly traveling between countries, working on exhibitions and projects across Europe and the US while keeping the gallery programme active despite the circumstances \u2013 the gallery in Kyiv had to be closed at the start of the invasion and re-opened only in April 2023. Since then, they have opened a new space in Miami and built strong ties between the Ukrainian art scene and the international market.<\/p>\n And what about the Russians? \u201cI didn\u2019t receive any application from there,\u201d Dietrich says.<\/p>\n Edited by Catherine Hickley\/sb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of this year’s highlights at Liste, the Taiwanese gallery ssspacespace brings to Basel the installation “No. 72”…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84406,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8],"tags":[101,8679,77,98,5610,1918,460,461],"class_list":["post-84405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basel","tag-article","tag-arts-general","tag-basel","tag-beat-culture","tag-beat-swiss-fine-arts","tag-culture","tag-multi","tag-production-type-original"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116752995443932373","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/eduardo-simantob-profileImage-43498129.png\")
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\nBorn in S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil, I studied Film and Economics but made a career in journalism in several capacities (reporter, editor, international correspondent) before moving to documentary films, as developer and producer, and then to visual arts (in art publishing and as a curator). I joined SWI swissinfo.ch in 2017, where I could bring all this broad experience to the coordination of our cultural section. <\/p>\n
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