HYBE Art Fair Opens on the 21st with No Booth Fees and 48 Exhibitors

The HYBE Art Fair, attracting attention due to its decision to eliminate booth fees, opens on the 21st. This initiative aims to move away from the commercial nature of traditional art fairs and place greater emphasis on galleries’ curatorial skills and artists’ messages. Themed around a sustainable art ecosystem, a total of 48 galleries from 36 locations in South Korea and 12 overseas locations will participate.

The most notable feature of the HYBE Art Fair is its policy of abolishing booth fees. It has decided not to charge fees that previously ranged from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of won, which were a major source of revenue at traditional art fairs. Instead, all galleries will be provided with booths of equal size, allowing them to purchase only the optional services they need. The plan is to replace the traditional booth-fee-based structure through ticket sales, marketing for lounge programs, and location selection services.

The effect of this policy has been an increased investment by galleries in exhibition design. With the burden of booth fees removed, galleries have begun voluntarily allocating more budget to exhibition design and planning, resulting in higher quality artwork installation and space arrangement. Some galleries have even invested more funds than what was typical at previous art fairs.

A total of 158 artists will participate in this art fair, with a unique feature being a 0% overlap rate among them. There will be 13 solo exhibitions, 7 duo exhibitions, and 28 group exhibitions, with every booth featuring an independent exhibition format. The organizers received exhibition titles and concept documents from galleries in advance. After analyzing them, they revealed that 27 out of the 48 galleries used language related to “sustainability,” while more than 10 selected “coexistence” as a key theme.

Exhibition titles and conceptual intentions will be made public on on-site nameplates, brochures, and the official website alongside gallery names. This is intended to ensure that visitors experience the narrative behind each exhibition rather than simply viewing the artworks. The special exhibition “The Core” will feature artists Kim Jun, Park Hyung-jin, and Jang Hana, whose work focuses on environment and ecosystems.

Kim Jung-yeon, representative of the HYBE Art Fair, said, “Experimenting with new possibilities is more important than being greedy for profits.” She added that galleries with strong curatorial capabilities who previously could not participate due to high booth fees will now join this event. She also stated, “We considered what the art fair can do beyond mere business operations for society and the art ecosystem, and we will continue to seek ways to create a sustainable art ecosystem.”

Major domestic and international galleries such as Gana Art, Gallery Hyundai, and Esther Schiffer have joined the list of participants. The HYBE Art Fair will be held from the 21st to the 24th at COEX Magok in Seoul.