Tell someone you’re traveling to Ibiza for the art, and they might not believe you. Countering these doubts is Contemporary Art Now, or CAN, a small art gallery that invites art lovers to dip their toe in the pristine waters of Talamanca’s beach clubs, perhaps have lunch in the sleepy northern port of Portinatx, then don a Supra over a bikini before purchasing some art. The show’s selections are colourful, positive and engaging without being vulgar. The participating exhibitions aim to attract the attention of the Ibiza crowd, who of course want to decorate their beach homes, without sacrificing interest in industry trends or art that meaningfully engages with the issues of the day.
“When you are outside the gallery, you are in holiday mode, everything is beautiful, and you feel very relaxed,” curator Sasha Bogoev told the Observer. “Then you go inside, and I like to think of these works as a kind of mental exercise, because a lot of these works are about certain themes, and some of them may not be pleasant. I like to create this kind of contrast with the outside environment.”
It’s not just CAN. In a world where art fairs are multiplying by the day, and getting involved in the industry, whether buying or selling, feels like a combat sport, some fair organizers are experimenting with a different model: one that adapts to the lifestyle of sought-after art collectors, rather than requiring them to scramble to keep up with the sometimes hectic art fair calendar. Or in other words, if the collector doesn’t go to the art gallery, the art gallery will go to the collector.
The growing list of art galleries extends from St. Moritz to Gstaad, from Capri to the Berkshires, and from Punta del Este to Joshua Tree. This growth can be linked to the development of the so-called “experience economy” in the post-pandemic period – how and where you collect art is, for some, as important as the purchase itself. This is in line with a boom in luxury travel, a market now valued at $1.59 trillion and expected to almost double to $3 trillion by 2033. Notably, the art fair circuit is also expanding beyond established resort destinations, from the touring galleries NOMAD and 74th Arts, to VIMA, which launched two years ago in Limassol, Cyprus, and contributes to the tourist island’s cultural vision.
Nazhand, one of the art collectors who attended this year’s CAN art fair, is a regular visitor to Ibiza: “I’ve been coming here for years,” she told the Observer. “I’ve always attracted people who think differently: artists, musicians, architects, designers, art collectors… I’ve never been particularly interested in what the art world considers the ‘right’ place to be. Once we start measuring cultural value by prestige or social currency, we’ve really lost sight of what makes art compelling.”
This is exactly the thinking with which Becca Hoffman—formerly director of Outsider Art Fair in New York and Paris, and Andrew Edlin Gallery—builds pop-up art exhibitions in places as diverse as Aspen, Marseille, and Singapore via 74th Arts. “I’m drawn to places where there’s really a certain energy outside of the main art world circuit, but with engagement, interest and connection,” she said. “The question I always ask is whether this event can exist anywhere. If yes, then this is not our type of event – each of our events is uniquely designed to fit the region.”
When asked if she meets the same collectors around the world, from Aspen to Marseilles to Singapore, Hoffman said it’s a mixed bag, with a core group of collectors and others at one-day events. “But in each location, there is a deliberate effort to attract people who don’t necessarily go to the big art galleries, because they’re looking for something different.” She added that she looks for the gap between what a place is and what it can hold, and her approach is always relational before it is logistical. “I start by thinking about what the connective tissue is in a particular place. From there, the flow, size, scope and event follow.”
In terms of size, most destination art galleries sit on roughly the same roof. CAN Ibiza can feature 30 galleries by design. “The small-sized exhibition makes it possible to focus on something,” Bogoev explained.
Hoffman discussed the same constraints, but in economic terms: “At the boutique level, I think about the terms of participation differently. The fees are lower, but the barrier to invitees is higher, and this selectivity is part of the value proposition for all participants.”
Bogoev offers a caveat worth considering: CAN Ibiza was launched in 2022 “at the height of art market activity,” a moment that has largely subsided since. “We were fortunate in that we started small, so we can stay small in this time when the market is much tougher globally.”
In Ibiza, gallery owners recorded a high level of satisfaction and reported interactions with collectors who happened to visit the island and picked up a piece almost as a souvenir before returning home, along with Spanish collectors – regulars at Arco Madrid – who came specifically to do business. CAN also has a VIP program that travels to approximately 50 collectors annually, with studio visits and gallery tours organized during the exhibition days. “If we open the door to local residents, it won’t work,” Bogoev admitted.
Figures at the VIMA Contemporary Art Fair in Limassol, Cyprus, suggest that this kind of attraction could be built from scratch. In its second edition, the number of visitors reached more than 5,000 – more than 1,000 more than the previous year – and sales rose 1.8 times, with the highest price paid for a single work reaching €90,000. “What was clearly driven was trust,” says Lara Kotreleva, one of VIMA’s three founders. “Initially, we were not only presenting a new exhibition, but also the idea that Cyprus could become a useful place for the exchange of contemporary art. Now the conversation has become more concrete.”
Bogojev’s language leans toward discovery rather than acquisition. “The collectors who are most enthusiastic about this format are not necessarily the youngest, but they are the ones who have already attended Basel Fair dozens of times and are looking for something that doesn’t look like a trade fair,” he said. “They want to be influenced, not just informed.” He also pointed to a second group, “younger, in their late 30s and early 40s, often with non-inherited wealth, who are drawn to intimacy and care precisely because they find the huge gallery disorienting.”
The question of whether any of the buzz around art fairs in the destination contributes to the development of local art scenes is answered differently by each of these events. General practice involves holding “off-programme” galleries on the ground. CAN Ibiza has a public sculpture program that aims to leave something behind once the stalls come down; This year, it was a permanent piece by world-famous artist Stefan Brueggemann, who also had a show at the local museum.
But the founders of VIMA Cyprus were quick to resist the destination exhibition label. “I would be hesitant to use that term,” Edgar Gadziev, another VIMA co-founder, told Observer. “Our mission is more structural: to help build a market, ecosystem and reason for galleries, collectors, institutions and cultural actors to meet in Limassol.”
Kotreleva added that the absence of luxury tourism brands on the island gives them more space to define the cultural narrative. “There is less hype, less crypto magic, and fewer fixed expectations about what an art event in Cyprus should be like.” But the same blank canvas requires more work. “We cannot rely on existing luxury myths to attract people. We need to create trust.”
On whether VIMA is competing with larger galleries or avoiding comparison altogether, co-founder Nadezhda Zinovskaya said they are not trying to be a smaller version of a larger gallery: “We are trying to be precise about what Cyprus can offer: a regional bridge, a focused meeting point, a platform where galleries can reach collectors and communities that are not always reached through the traditional Western European exhibition calendar.”
Bogoev, meanwhile, was circumspect in his response when asked whether art fairs in destinations could influence the larger art ecosystem in a significant way. “I don’t think the traditional fair model or technical system will be challenged anytime soon,” he said. “But I think this type of exhibition has the potential to be considered a viable option.”
But art collector Nazhand sees destination art galleries as not just a smaller alternative but something better. “I’m much more interested in looking to the future than following the established paths of contemporary art,” she concluded, heading out for dinner overlooking the sea, perhaps followed by a late-night party. “I believe that the future of the art world lies not so much in hierarchy as in curiosity, communication and the desire to challenge convention.”
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