Secrets, Seedlings and Bird Calls: Programming at Frieze New York 2025

The programme for the 13th edition of Frieze New York will feature site-responsive performances and installations at the intersections of visual, sound and live art. Three international artists – Asad Raza, Carlos Reyes and Pilvi Takala – will present new commissions that respond to the architectural spaces of The Shed and the nearby High Line from 7 – 11 May 2025.

In addition, Frieze New York will again partner with non-profits, including Printed Matter, the world's leading non-profit dedicated to artists’ books, and ​​the Artist Plate Project, raising funds for the Coalition for the Homeless. 

Programme Highlights

Pilvi Takala, The Pin

The Pin is a new performance by Berlin-based Finnish artist Pilvi Takala, co-commissioned by High Line Art and Frieze and curated by Taylor Zakarin, associate curator of High Line Art. Takala’s art questions social and organisational conventions and codes to investigate the hidden rules that govern our public spaces. Previously, she has posed as a security guard, an office worker and Snow White. The Pin marks the second co-commission between High Line Art and Frieze, following Matty Davis’s Die No Die (The High Line) in 2024.

Performances happen on Wednesday 7 May, Friday 9 May and Sunday 11 May.

Asad Raza, Immortal Coil

Immortal Coil, by Asad Raza is a new participatory installation in collaboration with High Line Art, focused on the endless regeneration of plant life. It incorporates seedlings and cuttings from plants found on the High Line, selected with guidance from Richard Hayden, the High Line’s senior director of horticulture. On Saturday 10 May, participants will be given a plant and invited to walk the length of the High Line with it, before taking it home – creating a living connection between the city and the installation. Audiences can also experience original music that musician and artist Kelsey Lu has composed for the plants, and a lecture from the environmental writer Zoë Schlanger.

Saturday 10 May, 11am

Carlos Reyes, Freestyle Hard

On Thursday 8 May at Frieze New York, Carlos Reyes will present Freestyle Hard, a new work that transforms The Shed into a timed soundscape. Part durational performance, part installation, the piece includes live performances of bird calls by expert human bird callers. The sounds will echo throughout the building, in passageways, on escalators and in the coat check, creating unexpected sonic encounters and conjuring an uncanny atmosphere where fiction and reality overlap.

Thursday 8 May during fair opening hours (11am – 7pm)

Artist Plate Project 

Returning after its debut at Frieze New York 2022, the Artist Plate Project supports the Coalition for the Homeless through the sale of limited-edition plates at the fair. Just 250 of each plate are produced, priced at $250. The purchase of just one plate can feed more than 100 homeless people. Launched in 2020 by Michelle Hellman, the project has partnered with more than 150 acclaimed artists and raised more than $7 million for homeless New Yorkers. This year’s featured artists include Derrick Adams, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sanford Biggers, Amoako Boafo, Louise Bourgeois, Cecily Brown, Alexander Calder, Brian Calvin, Charles Gaines, Chase Hall, Keith Haring, Barkley L. Hendricks, Carmen Herrera, Robert Indiana, JR, KAWS, Danielle McKinney, Takashi Murakami, Jackson Pollock, Christina Quarles, Man Ray, Faith Ringgold, Ed Ruscha, Amy Sherald, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Anna Weyant and many others.

Printed Matter, Inc.

Founded in 1976, Printed Matter, Inc. is the world’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to artists’ books and related publications. It returns to Frieze New York with a pop-up in the lobby bookshop area, showcasing contemporary artists’ books, a curated selection of editions, and rare and out-of-print publications.

Frieze Library 

Now in its seventh year, the annual Frieze Library, organized in conjunction with Gordon Robichaux, invites Frieze New York’s participating galleries to donate one or more arts publications to the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The selection reflects the current moment through diverse artists, writers and art world professionals. The submissions will be on display at the fair on Level 8, before being presented to the Met.

Further Information

Frieze New York, The Shed, 7 – 11 May 2025. Tickets are on sale – don’t miss out, buy yours now. Alternatively, become a member to enjoy premier access, exclusive guided tours and more.

BUY TICKETS

A dedicated online Frieze Viewing Room will open in the week before the fair, offering audiences a first look at the presentations and the opportunity to engage with the fair remotely. 

Frieze New York is supported by global lead partner Deutsche Bank, continuing its legacy of celebrating artistic excellence on an international scale.

^{Main image: Pilvi Takala, Close Watch, 2022. Three-channel video installation. Image © Pilvi Takala 2022. Courtesy: the artist; Carlos/Ishikawa, London; and Stigter van Doesburg, Amsterdam}