Maike Cruse, the new director of Art Basel's flagship fair in Basel, is preparing for the 2025 edition opening to VIPs next week. The fair will feature 285 galleries from around the world, including the Unlimited section for large-scale works and a conceptual wheat field by Agnes Denes originally planted at the World Trade Center in 1982, now growing at the Messeplatz. In an interview, Cruse discusses her transition from leading Gallery Weekend Berlin for a decade, the evolution of Basel as an art market hub, and her vision for rejuvenating the fair while maintaining its regional identity.
This matters because Cruse's appointment signals a strategic shift for Art Basel as it expands globally with four fairs and a collaboration with Tokyo Art Week, while emphasizing local programming and regional differentiation. Her experience in Berlin and her return to Basel—where she previously worked as communications manager—highlight the fair's efforts to balance international growth with grassroots engagement, especially as the Basel art scene revitalizes with new project spaces, young galleries, and major outposts like Gagosian and Hauser & Wirth. The interview also touches on broader art market trends and the newly minted Art Basel Paris.