Insider’s Guide

In the nine days leading up to Frieze New York, we share our experts’ tips on seeing the most (and eating the best) at the fair this year.

1. Pack light
‘Start with galleries you are most unfamiliar with,’ says White Columns Director and Chief Curator Matthew Higgs. ‘And talk to the gallery owner about what they are showing,’ he continues, ‘they will be excited to talk to you, and this often leads to unexpected discoveries.’

Dallas-based Christen Wilson, who sits on the Tate North American Acquisitions Committee and chairs the Program Advisory Committee of the Nasher Sculpture Center, always brings a wireless phone charger and wears a light jacket and tennis shoes for walking ‘the whole fair, row by row.’

2. New galleries
This year sees 24 galleries participating in the fair for the first time, hailing from Cape Town (blank) to Madrid (Maisterravalbuena), Geneva (Truth And Consequences) to Mumbai (Jhaveri Contemporary), as well as closer to home, with New York stalwarts Sperone Westwater and Van Doren Waxter among the newcomers.

3. Night at the Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is hosting the premiere of Ryan McNamara’s Battleground, described by the artist as ‘a sci-fi cosplay house-music battle-ballet.’ Part of the Guggenheim’s ‘Works & Process’ series, performances take place on May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Peter B. Lewis Theater, a space McNamara feels was ‘prophetically designed’ for his piece. For tickets and information, visit www.guggenheim.org.

4. Getting there
Float or ride to Frieze. In addition to buses from the Guggenheim Museum and the ferry service from East 35th Street, there’s a new fast ferry from East 90th Street (Wednesday through Friday only) and the pick-up point promises a glimpse of Gracie Mansion. For more details—including how to reach the fair by car — see our transportation tips.

5. Butterflies and ice cream
Pick up a cone of Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream and wander into Randall’s Island Park. Look out for green herons in the salt marsh, and for Prairie Fire and Sweet-Scented Bedstraw in the Rock Garden.

6. Tune In
Supported by BMW, Frieze Sounds commissions three new sound-based works each year, from artists well-versed in and new to the medium. In 2014, a baby’s heartbeat provided the bassline to Hannah Weinberger’s Hey. Listen to collective GCC, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, and Liz Magic Laser at the fair or stream them at home. More information.

7. Frame and Focus
Fabian Schöneich — advisor to fair sections Frame and Focus when he's not curator at Portikus, Frankfurt — notes that this year many younger artists are producing a personal, tactile form of sculpture which emphasizes sensitivity and fragile materiality. Heidi Zuckerman who is Nany and Bob Magoon CEO and Director of the Aspen Museum of Art, often makes a beeline for the international galleries in the Frame and Focus sections — ‘When visiting with patrons, I like to take them to galleries we have worked with from across the world,’ she says. ‘It’s become a journey of discoveries.’

8. Have an eggplant parm

... from New York institution Frankies Spuntino — it's their staple.

9. An artist’s view David Horvitz’s Frieze Project
 will see a pickpocket released into the fair—but with unexpected results. His tip to experience the piece? “Keep distracted. Keep your pockets open. Remain vulnerable.”  

The full version of this article appears in Frieze Week magazine, available here and onsite at the fair May 5-8, 2016.