The Armory Show, New York's premier art fair, is dedicating its 2025 Focus section to artists and galleries from the American South, running September 4-7. Curated by Jessica Bell Brown, executive director of the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, the section features 13 galleries, including Martha's from Austin and Wolfgang Gallery from Atlanta, with works exploring themes of queer identity, Black communities, and Southern cuisine. The fair, now under director Kyla McMillan and owned by Frieze, aims to amplify the region as a nexus for diasporas and challenge preconceived notions about the South.
This focus matters because it positions the American South—the fastest-growing and most racially diverse U.S. region—within a major commercial art context, countering its historical and political stereotypes. By highlighting artists like RF. Alvarez, Aineki Traverso, and Baldwin Lee, the fair elevates underrepresented voices and galleries, potentially shifting market attention and collector interest toward a region often overlooked in the art world. It also marks McMillan's first fully curated edition since the fair's acquisition by Frieze, signaling a strategic expansion beyond New York's traditional art fair identity.