“Clio Art Fair, the leading independent art fair that champions self-represented artists, returns to Chelsea this September with its 24th edition: September 17–20, 2026. The edition will feature a new roster of international artists and artist collectives, offering collectors, curators, art professionals, and the public a fresh and diverse experience across both weekends.
Clio Art Fair continues to break the mold of traditional art fairs by providing a high-visibility platform for artists without exclusive gallery representation. Focused on direct connection, authenticity, and discovery, Clio has become a must- attend event for those seeking what’s next in contemporary art.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE PROGRAM: “”I DON’T WANT TO BE USEFUL””
We live in a time where almost everything is expected to have a purpose.
To be productive. To perform. To generate results. To be useful.
This September, Clio Art Fair creates space for another possibility:
What if art does not need to be useful?
Art does not always have to solve a problem, deliver an answer, or justify its existence. Sometimes it can simply
interrupt, question, provoke, exist, or create a moment that could not have happened otherwise.
Performance sits at the center of this experience. It unfolds in real time — shared space, shared presence, no filters.
For this edition, Clio invites performances that resist the pressure to be productive or easily defined. Works may explore the body, identity, memory, absurdity, resistance, repetition, vulnerability, failure, freedom, or simply the act of being present.
Within the fair, these performances create moments outside the expected rhythms of viewing and collecting art.
They ask audiences not only to observe, but to experience.
Art does not always need to serve a function.
Sometimes, its freedom lies in refusing to.
Dates & Hours:
September 17–20,2026
September 17 (Press & VIP Preview, $35/ticket): 6–9 PM
September 18–19 (General Admission, FREE Entrance): 12–8 PM
September 20 (General Admission, FREE Entrance): 12–6 PM”
