Lumi Tan, the curator of Frieze New York’s Focus program, discusses her approach to planning the section of the fair dedicated to emerging and underrepresented galleries. The article outlines her selection criteria, which prioritize conceptual rigor and diverse geographic representation, and highlights specific galleries and artists she has chosen for the upcoming edition.
This matters because the Focus program has become a key platform for discovering new talent and shaping trends in the contemporary art market. Tan’s curatorial choices influence which artists and galleries gain visibility among collectors and institutions, making her strategy a bellwether for the broader art world’s evolving interests.