Art Week: Six steps to start collecting and take advantage of art fairs
Three contemporary art fairs – arteba , Affair , and Bada – will take place this week in Buenos Aires, turning the city into a hub of creative excitement for a handful of days, and also – it is hoped – will lead to hundreds of sales of works.
The arteba fair, from August 29th to 31st in Costa Salguero, will bring together 67 galleries and more than 400 artists from Argentina and around the world in an eleven thousand square meter space. Photo: courtesy
Art fairs are a great opportunity to approach art in a more relaxed way. There, the public interacts with artists, gallery owners, and curators in an open environment, far from the solemnity that some believe sometimes surrounds galleries. For many, it's the best gateway to collecting.
Amid openings, tours, and talks, a rarely discussed question arises: how to start collecting? Here, fair directors, curators, and collectors offer six tips for taking the first step.
The first gesture is as simple as it is decisive: looking . Visiting a fair or several, entering a gallery, visiting museums. The experience of being in front of an artwork remains irreplaceable in the digital age.
“Visiting fairs and exhibitions is key. Even in this digital age, nothing replaces the experience of seeing a work in person : that's where its impact becomes most powerful. Looking at art exercises the eye muscles. And gallery owners enjoy sharing their passion: they expect questions,” explains Florencia Malbrán, a curator specializing in contemporary art.
Affair, from August 28th to 31st in downtown Buenos Aires, will feature 30 resident and guest galleries, plus international presence from Chile and Uruguay. Photo: Courtesy.
At arteba, they know this well. “New audiences are constantly arriving, with different questions: from young people taking selfies to business owners who want to understand how the value of a work is formed. The important thing is that everyone is encouraged to join the conversation,” says Larisa Andreani, the fair's president.
The phenomenon is also evident globally: according to the Art Basel & UBS Global Art Market Report 2025, 44 percent of buyers in 2024 acquired a work of art for the first time in their lives.
For collector Gabriel Vázquez, it's about "being curious, looking, and asking questions. Forcing your gaze, even without understanding, and letting yourself be guided by what touches your heart. The work is completed in the heart and mind of each individual . In that encounter, we discover and get to know ourselves."
The work is completed in the heart and mind of each person. In that encounter, we discover and get to know each other.
2. Start with what's localFairs offer a vast array of options, but it's best to start with something local . At arteba, the Utopia section focuses on emerging projects and galleries with young artists . There, more accessible connections are created, and you can speak directly with those who produce the works.
The arteba fair, from August 29th to 31st in Costa Salguero, will bring together 67 galleries and more than 400 artists from Argentina and around the world in an eleven thousand square meter space. Photo: courtesy
" It's advisable to start in the younger neighborhood, with artists of the same generation. That direct contact allows you to grow alongside them," recommends collector Juan Borchex .
For Lucrecia Palacios, executive director of arteba , the key is to show the breadth of the scene: “The public can start at Utopia, with emerging artists, but also encounter blue-chip works by established artists such as Julio Le Parc, Antonio Berni, or María Martorell.”
In the art market , blue chip artists are considered to be internationally renowned artists whose works are considered safe and highly sought-after. The coexistence of these established names with emerging offerings allows each visitor to chart their own course.
Buying art isn't just for experts or millionaires, although that prejudice still persists. Today, there are programs designed to help anyone take that first step .
At Affair, the "My First Affair" initiative offers a digital catalog of works for less than $600 , designed especially for first-time buyers. And at Bada, all artists present at least ten small-format works for a maximum value of 150,000 pesos , in addition to offering up to 18 interest-free installments and refunds with Banco Hipotecario.
"It's like buying an appliance: with a credit card and installments. The idea is to democratize access.
At arteba, the "My First Work" program allows you to purchase pieces worth up to $3,000 in three interest-free installments. This year, the program is being developed in partnership with Banco Santander and allows payment with any credit card, just as if it were an everyday consumer good.
“ It's like buying an appliance: with a credit card and installments . The idea is to democratize access and break down the barrier of asking prices,” explains Larisa Andreani.
Affair, from August 28th to 31st in downtown Buenos Aires, will feature 30 resident and guest galleries, plus international presence from Chile and Uruguay. Photo: Courtesy.
For the president of arteba, "the important thing is that more and more young buyers enter, that the market strengthens, and that access becomes broader ."
Learning is also built through conversation . Borchex summarizes: “It's not just how you look that matters, but how you hear it too. Listening to other collectors, artists, or critics helps you form your own opinions .”
For beginners, arteba offers talks and guided tours . “We invite people who may have never been to a gallery, and we guide them through the questions they sometimes hesitate to ask. How a price is determined, why an artist is important, or what it means for a work to be in an international museum ,” explains Palacios.
The arteba fair, from August 29th to 31st in Costa Salguero, will bring together 67 galleries and more than 400 artists from Argentina and around the world in an eleven thousand square meter space. Photo: courtesy
Throughout the year, the fair organizes open-to-the-public events with different approaches , which serve as themed tours to help overcome the fear of buying.
“One day we talk about works with spiritual themes, another about emerging art, another about pieces designed to engage children, or about works that are in tune with the international agenda,” Palacios explains. “These are ways of showing that there are many possible paths to approaching art .”
Curators Marcos Kramer and Violeta González Santos even offer guidance to potential buyers based on their budget , tastes, and the characteristics of their homes, as part of Zonaprop's "Living with Art" program, which offers free advice on purchasing works at arteba . In addition, tours will be offered at the fair to promote and democratize access to contemporary art.
It's advisable for all works to have something incomprehensible. If you understand a work immediately, it probably won't age well.
5. Dare to do what is uncomfortableRisk is also part of the game . And it's not just about money: it could be unexpected support, excessive size, or a project that's difficult to understand at first glance.
“It's advisable for all works to have something incomprehensible. If you understand a work immediately, it probably won't age well. Dare to explore what's uncomfortable, because that's the key ,” is Borchex 's opinion.
The arteba fair, from August 29th to 31st in Costa Salguero, will bring together 67 galleries and more than 400 artists from Argentina and around the world in an eleven thousand square meter space. Photo: courtesy
Andreani offers another perspective: “Each visitor comes with different interests: architects seeking aesthetics, entrepreneurs questioning value, young people wanting to learn. The important thing is that everyone can find something that speaks to them, even if it's not what they expected .”
Collecting isn't a goal, but rather a process that develops over time . There's no need to seek a rigid script or a perfect curatorial plan from the outset: collections are built over time .
“My collection is a reflection of my unconscious. There's no roadmap: the important thing is the evolution, the play, the questioning, the expansion, ” says Borchex.
At the same time, arteba authorities highlight the changing dynamics of the fair. “ The first day you see some works, and the next day the display has changed because they've sold out. That makes each visit different , and it's part of the collecting experience,” Andreani points out.
The Arteba fair, from August 29 to 31 in Costa Salguero , will bring together 67 galleries and more than 400 artists from Argentina and around the world in a space of eleven thousand square meters.
Meanwhile, Affair, from August 28 to 31 in downtown Buenos Aires , will feature 30 resident and guest galleries, plus the international presence of spaces from Chile and Uruguay.
"BADA Contemporary Art Fair." Clarín Archive.
In parallel, Bada will deploy more than 300 artists at La Rural who sell without intermediaries, with the option of paying in up to 18 interest-free installments.
This year, there will even be a free microphone connecting the arteba and Affair fairs, as a gesture of collaboration between the events . The idea is that they don't compete with each other: all the fairs generate audiences and sales, and together they expand the art market in the city.
Each offers its own unique entry point, from direct contact with artists at Bada to Affair's accessible catalogs and arteba's financing programs . Ultimately, they all share a common goal: to expand the circle of those who are encouraged to experience art on a daily basis.
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