Last month in picturesque North Adams, Massachusetts, a joyous VIP preview took place in anticipation of Arrival Art Fair—a bold, new creative program debuting June 13-15, 2025 in the Berkshires.
Arrival is co-founded by Yng-Ru Chen, owner of Boston-based Praise Shadows Art Gallery and the former PR Director at MoMA PS1; Sarah Galender Meyer, who leads Galender Art Advisory in the Bay Area; and Crystalle Lacouture, a North Adams and Boston-based artist. The pioneering fair is far from the hustle and bustle of large-scale, city art events and will be a distinctive invitational and biannual program set in nature’s divine bounty.
Artists, curators, galleries, collectors, and art lovers from across the globe will be immersed in leading-edge contemporary art displayed within the acclaimed TOURISTS hotel. The splendid property, which boasts over 55 acres of verdant terrain, is set in idyllic fashion along the Hoosic River banks. Enveloped by far-reaching mountain ranges, visitors will take part in a compelling dialogue between art, culture, community, and the invigorating environment.
A Radiant Art Preview and Dinner Unfolds
On July 27, the radiant preview affair was attended by cultural figureheads of the Hudson Valley and Berkshires, perceptive curators and principals from Williams College Museum of Art, Harvard Art Museums, Cantor Art Center at Stanford University, Clark, MASS MoCA, Brooklyn Museum, and MFA Boston, as well as a lively gathering of Williams College Art History alumni. Three significant galleries took part in the enchanting encounter—Praise Shadows of Boston, REGULARNORMAL of New York, and SHRINE of Los Angeles and New York—an engaging prelude of the fair’s creative and alluring installation design. A celebratory dinner sparked effervescent connection and enthusiasm for next year’s revelatory fair.
“Arrival’s July 27 Preview event exemplified our hopes and expectations for the launch in June of 2025: beautiful natural surroundings, world-class hospitality, terrific artworks on view, a gathering of people from all over the country, and most importantly, a burst of excitement for a new art fair model,” said Chen, Galender Meyer, and Lacouture.
“We are thankful to our stellar group of Curatorial Ambassadors, who are currently in the process of nominating galleries that they recommend for Arrival’s inaugural edition.”
Arrival Co-Founders Crystalle Lacouture, Sarah Galender Meyer, Yng-Ru Chen; Photo by Mel Taing for Arrival Art Fair, Courtesy of Arrival Art Fair.
Arrival Art Fair is Led by Dynamic Curatorial Ambassadors
The inaugural art fair is spearheaded by a dynamic collection of Curatorial Ambassadors hailing from our nation’s premier institutions, and each revered art historian or museum leader nominates three to five exhibitors who will then go on to submit their booths.
With robust connections to the local arts and education scene, Ambassadors including Pamela Franks, Class of 1956 Director, Williams College Museum of Art; Veronica Roberts, John and Jill Freidenrich Director, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University; Dan Byers, John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Director, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, and many more, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the much-anticipated arts celebration.
“Arrival feels so aligned with the priorities of this moment—a collaborative venture to share contemporary creative voices in local and regional contexts,” said Catherine Morris, Senior Curator, Brooklyn Museum and Arrival Curatorial Ambassador. “And the icing on the cake—all of it driven by a fiscally sponsored non-profit model, woman-centered vision that puts community first.”
“Arrival feels so aligned with the priorities of this moment,”
— Catherine Morris
Photo by Mel Taing for Arrival Art Fair, Courtesy of Arrival Art Fair.
25 to 30 Gallery Booths Alongside Local Arts Organizations
Arrival Art Fair anticipates 25 to 30 booths for its stirring first iteration, enhanced by distinguished and innovative Massachusetts-based not-for-profit arts organizations present throughout the vibrant event.
Live performances, essential conversations, and a bountiful offering of forward-thinking art presses and publications will unfold alongside site-specific adventures like energizing trail hikes and insightful public sculpture tours.
“Arrival centers some of the best parts of the art world’s ecology: the nourishing relationships that can develop between curators and galleries to support artists, unexpected encounters with art, and community building in the form of hanging out in a beautiful place,” added Byers. “I’m excited not because it’s some complicated new concept, but because it’s a big-hearted embrace of the kinds of perfect ingredients and DIY spirit that have created some of the most uplifting experiences I’ve had in the art world.”
“Arrival centers some of the best parts of the art world’s ecology,”
— Dan Byers
Photo by Mel Taing for Arrival Art Fair, Courtesy of Arrival Art Fair.
Arrival Art Fair Joins Historic Berkshire-Based Art Endeavors
Joining a parade of long-standing Berkshire-based art endeavors, including Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood summer residency, the Williamstown Theater Festival, the historic dance center Jacob’s Pillow, and more, Arrival Art Fair will share with visitors the keen perspectives of today’s most discerning contemporary museum curators.
“A gathering of friends who still believe in the power of art to engage and excite in the bucolic hills of Western Massachusetts, along with great food, an amazing venue, and equal representation from Boston and New York, made for an all-around fantastic evening,” said Eric Shiner, President, Powerhouse Arts and Arrival Advisor on the fair’s preview event. “It renewed my faith in the art world.”
Photo by Mel Taing for Arrival Art Fair, Courtesy of Arrival Art Fair.
Jameson Johnson, EIC Boston Art Review; Photo by Mel Taing for Arrival Art Fair, Courtesy of Arrival Art Fair.
Photo by Mel Taing for Arrival Art Fair, Courtesy of Arrival Art Fair.
