NADA New York Returns to Starrett-Lehigh With More Than 100 Exhibitors
NADA New York is preparing for its 12th edition at the Starrett-Lehigh Building, where the fair will once again occupy the venue from May 13–17. More than 100 local, national, and international galleries and dealers are set to participate, underscoring how firmly the fair has settled into its second year at the site.
One of the fair’s most closely watched sections, the Curated Spotlight, will return in 2026. Organized by curator Anthony Elms and presented in partnership with TD Bank, the section is designed to highlight a select group of galleries, with a particular emphasis this year on artist-run spaces and exhibitors closely aligned with artist support.
For Heather Hubbs, NADA’s executive director, the fair is only one part of a much larger ecosystem. Hubbs joined NADA in 2004, two years after the organization began, and has watched it expand from a grassroots initiative into an international network with more than 250 gallery members and fairs in New York and Miami. The scale has changed dramatically, she said, but the organization’s underlying purpose has not.
That purpose, in her view, is service. NADA’s mission centers on supporting galleries and art spaces rather than extracting value from them, while helping artists and dealers build durable careers and reach new audiences. Hubbs also pointed to the organization’s year-round programming, which includes mentorship pairings between established galleries and newer members, NADA Collects for emerging collectors, webinars, panel discussions, social events, residencies, and LUNCH, NADA’s exhibition space on the Lower East Side.
The fair itself is known for its appetite for experimental work, and Hubbs said the 2026 edition reflects that energy. Among the first-time exhibitors she singled out are Chang Suyung at P.A.D., whose intricate paintings of Central Park are made on hand-sewn shirt cuffs; Douglas Rieger at Capsule from Shanghai, presenting a sculptural solo booth; and Loucia Carlier at Third Born from Mexico City, whose miniatures are among the fair’s quieter draws.
As NADA New York returns to the Starrett-Lehigh Building, the organization is presenting a familiar argument with renewed clarity: that an art fair can function not only as a marketplace, but as a long-term support structure for the galleries and artists that sustain contemporary art.
