The Other Art Fair Brooklyn returns with bold new artists, immersive experiences, and the kind of creative energy that makes spring in NYC unforgettable.

Step inside a world where art becomes conversation, discovery happens face to face, and creativity feels tangible. That is the essence of The Other Art Fair Brooklyn—an immersive four-day experience returning to Gowanus from May 8 through 11, 2025. Now in its 15th edition, the fair transforms ZeroSpace, a cavernous warehouse space turned cultural playground, into a vibrant showcase of more than 125 independent artists.

Presented by Saatchi Art, The Other Art Fair Brooklyn is not about status or exclusivity. It is about connection—between artist and viewer, between creativity and curiosity, between what art is and what it could be. From interactive installations and cinematic portrait sessions to hands-on workshops and a dynamic floor of artist-led booths. The fair offers a textured, unfiltered look into Brooklyn’s contemporary art scene.

Whether you are a collector, a creative spirit, or someone simply craving something unexpected, The Other Art Fair Brooklyn delivers a weekend that is as bold and open-ended as the art it celebrates.

The Other Art Fair Brooklyn: Art That Feels Personal

What makes The Other Art Fair Brooklyn different is not just what you see. It is who you meet. Unlike traditional gallery experiences, where distance often defines the interaction, here you are invited into a dialogue. Each artist exhibiting has been carefully selected by a panel of curators and insiders, not just for the quality of their work but for their voice, vision, and willingness to connect.

You will not find sterile white walls or hushed museum etiquette. Instead, you will wander between artist booths alive with conversation and texture. Embroidered tapestries hung beside bold mixed-media portraits, figurative sketches tucked between dreamlike sculptures. Whether you are drawn to fine art photography or whimsical illustrations, there is something here to linger over, ask questions about, and be surprised by.

Every artist is present. That alone shifts the energy of the space. When you pause in front of a piece, the person who made it is often standing just a few feet away, ready to share its backstory, technique, or emotional root. These are not passive transactions. They are encounters. Intimate, immediate, and human.

In a city that often feels like it moves too fast to truly connect, this fair offers a rare slowdown. A chance to look closely and engage directly—not with institutions, but with the people making the art that moves you.

An Immersive Experience at Every Turn at The Other Art Fair Brooklyn

Beyond the artist booths, The Other Art Fair Brooklyn comes alive through thoughtfully designed experiences that invite participation. This is not just a place to view art. It is a space to become part of it.

One of the most anticipated features this spring is the return of Anna Marie Tendler’s cinematic portrait sessions. Known for her emotionally charged self-portraits and her breakout series Rooms in the First House, Tendler creates richly atmospheric sets where guests are photographed in tableau. It is a collaboration—equal parts vulnerability and performance—resulting in a fine art portrait that feels mysterious and deeply personal. The experience alone is worth the visit.

In another corner of the fair, Summer Space Studio offers a tactile reprieve from the visual. Their joyful, meditative paper flower-making installation invites guests to slow down and shape delicate blooms by hand. The act of crafting—amid the energy of a buzzing fair—becomes a kind of grounding. There is something quietly powerful about sitting among strangers, creating beauty from nothing more than paper and imagination.

For those who like to explore with a sense of play, illustrator Joen Kraft’s interactive scavenger hunt adds a layer of whimsy. Four stamp stations are hidden throughout the venue. As guests collect each one, they complete a collaborative artwork. A small but satisfying souvenir that mirrors the fair’s ethos: art as connection, process, and shared delight.

Whether you are being photographed, building with your hands, or simply watching a moment unfold, these immersive experiences remind you that art isn’t always on a wall. Sometimes, it is something you step into.

Creative Rhythm and Unexpected Energy

There is an unmistakable rhythm to The Other Art Fair Brooklyn—one that mirrors the creative pulse of the borough itself. It is not curated calm—it is curated energy. Walk through the space and you will feel it. DJs spinning eclectic sets that shift the air, the low hum of conversations between artists and collectors, the quiet intensity of someone discovering a piece that stops them.

This year, the Balcones Distilling partnership adds a new layer to that rhythm. Tucked inside a repurposed New York City subway car set, their immersive whisky-tasting lounge is equal parts theatrical and intimate. It is an experience that plays with nostalgia and place, transforming a familiar structure into a sensory playground. The award-winning Texas distillery is not just offering samples. It is crafting moments of pause, reflection, and warmth.

Where Art, Identity, and Play Intersect

Their Artist in Residence, muralist and ceramicist Isolina Minjeong, debuts a new site-specific work that blends natural motifs with cultural symbolism. Her art, rooted in layered identities, mythology, and modern femininity, offers a quiet contrast to the buzz of the fair, asking viewers to stand still and look a little longer.

Around the venue, unexpected moments keep the experience textured. OOH Baby is back with their signature live patchwork. Painting and sewing custom pieces directly onto guest garments. And if you find yourself sketched by Ben Lenovitz, whose loose, expressive portraiture has become a crowd favorite, do not be surprised if you walk away with more than a drawing. You may walk away with a new way of seeing yourself.

This is what makes The Other Art Fair Brooklyn unlike any other—it is not just a showcase. It is a collision of creative disciplines, local flair, and personal encounters. A reminder that art, like the city it lives in, is best experienced in motion.

Uplifting New Voices in Contemporary Art

At its heart, The Other Art Fair has always been about access, not only for audiences but for artists. It is a platform for creative voices who may not have gallery representation or industry connections but have something urgent, honest, or arresting to say through their work.

One of the clearest expressions of this mission is the New Futures Award, an initiative designed to support rising talent with mentorship and visibility. This spring, the award goes to Zoë Papini, a New York–based painter whose emotionally textured portraits blend classical techniques with dreamlike atmospheres. Papini’s work often explores the discomfort of being seen—her subjects gaze back, slightly detached, existing somewhere between memory and moment.

Her booth is not just a display—it is a quiet reckoning. The kind of space you step into slowly and leave reluctantly.

The fair’s commitment to emerging artists does not end there. Every exhibitor is hand-selected by a rotating jury of curators, art advisors, and collectors. The result is a show floor that feels alive with contrast. Deeply personal paintings beside playful collage, politically charged prints sharing space with embroidered meditations. There is no single theme—only the shared momentum of creative risk.

For visitors, this diversity is not just refreshing—it is a chance to support artists before the rest of the world takes notice. You can have a conversation, ask questions, and buy work directly from the person who created it. That connection, often missing in traditional art spaces, is what makes this fair resonate long after you leave.

A Weekend of Discovery

The Other Art Fair Brooklyn is not a themed celebration or a polished art world spectacle. It is something looser, more alive. And while it does happen to fall over Mother’s Day weekend, it is not defined by it. This is a space for anyone seeking inspiration, connection, or simply something unexpected in a city that rarely slows down long enough to offer it.

Whether you arrive intending to buy or simply to browse, the fair welcomes you into a layered experience. Art that invites conversation, artists who want to share their process, and a community that values discovery over perfection.

There is no one way to navigate it. You might lose an hour in a single booth. You might leave with a new favorite artist. Or you might just walk away with a sense that something in you softened, shifted, or opened. That is what this weekend is about.

For Brooklyn locals, longtime collectors, or first-time fairgoers, The Other Art Fair Brooklyn is less about what you take home and more about what you feel while you’re there. In a city defined by ambition, this fair makes space for curiosity. And that alone is something worth celebrating.

The Other Art Fair Brooklyn

📍 Where: 337-345 Butler Street—Gowanus, Brooklyn
📅 When: May 8–11, 2025
🎟 Tickets + Info: theotherartfair.com/brooklyn