For better or for worse, in the art world, there has long been a traditional way of doing things: a rules-based order you must abide by, otherwise you’re not let into the insider “circle”; but the landscape is changing, practices are being revolutionized, and for galleries, artists, curators, art critics, and the like, what has historically worked in the past is no longer working like it used to. I want to preface this list with the notion that these are just my own personal musings and forecasts, a fun little exercise and not exactly gospel, but I am gently confident and hopeful that 2026 is a year these things may be ushered in… or out.

This is the one I am most sure of – this is the year galleries, art spaces, nomadic / online collectives no longer silo themselves. In the new art landscape, especially with emerging artists, I think we’re going to see the practice of gatekeeping artists go by the wayside, and communal approaches to programming will flourish. I don’t want to get too political, but as a reaction to the current geopolitical state of the world, we’re going to see a rising sense of solidarity, a “we’re all in this together” mindset and stick-togetherness everywhere, and this will permeate into the art world. Barcelona, in particular, has always been a city kind and welcoming to immigrants, expats, and the like, and because of this, there has always been an openness to the attitude of the city, and in turn, I think we’ll see a lot of gallery swaps, guest curators, and joint exhibitions. The outcome is two-fold: programmers get access to spaces they would otherwise not be in, and spaces get access to new audiences outside their usual group. Cross-pollination creates community, and community creates a living, breathing vitality to the scene. 

We already saw textile and ceramic really make some waves in 2025, but 2026 is the year the art world fully embraces forms that have historically been seen as “craft” in the fine art world. Contemplating what we define as “fine art” and “craft” is going to be blurred as we move forward and artists make use of paper, fibre, and ceramic in increasingly unique ways, breaking down our traditional expectations of how they take form, are displayed, and deployed as material. Historically there has been a bisection of what is seen as “high art” and “lower art”, craft typically being categorized as the latter, and I’m not going to get into it too much but craft was often the domain of women and non-western cultures and therefore ignored by the art world powers that be, but it’s incredibly exciting now to see such mediums take cultural precedent and amass appreciation in a more open, democratized art world. Our Ally, Casa Espacio, has fully embraced this curatorial approach, with recent exhibition Sabia muy bien lo que debia hacer. Era tan simple como apretar un boton by artist Sofia Mendiondo, pictured below, utilizing tent and camping textiles to create their dimensional sculpture work.

Another example I am really into recently is the work of Kurdish-Canadian artist Roda Medhat, who uses textile, light, and digital mediums to subvert expectations about fabric and texture, bringing me to my next point:

With the current generation of artists growing up with computers, laptops, and electronic devices, a generation of technologically literate artists is going to pave the way this year. Advances in technology, screens, lights, and the like have become a fair amount more accessible and usable than they used to be, so I believe this sets the stage and tills the soil for the oft-underappreciated digital artist this year, blending traditional mediums and utilizing tech to create unique and new-age artwork that engages with technology in a compassionate and novel way. 

Although the art world seems staunchly resistant and insulated from the wave of AI hegemony pervading other industries, the technology itself seems like it's going to be here to stay. Generative A.I, or using prompts to create art entirely by A.I. in my assessment, won’t ever fully be accepted by the art world, but I believe the tools capable of helping or augmenting the process will start to become accepted in art practices. I genuinely see some compelling applications for AI in interactive art, where robust LLMs can create dialogue between an artwork and its viewer, where there is a possibility for the artwork to literally speak back to you or respond quickly using its capacity for reason and thought. In order to appease audiences, though, a large portion of the artworks, in my opinion, still need to be hand-crafted, fabricated, or made tactile by human hands. Additionally, computer-assisted production methods, such as 3D Printing, have already been making waves in the art world, allowing new artists to engage with material outside of canvas, panel, wood, stone, and clay in order to access and create new forms not possible with traditional sculpting methods. Artist Ally PrintHouseBCN is a great place to start exploring the possibilities of such a technology. 

As a gallerist, of course, selfishly we always want the artworks to be with us, and within the walls of gallery spaces - but the idea that those are the only places where you can take art seriously is no more, it’s gone out the door. With physical real estate being a hot and difficult commodity to source, art will find its way to be shown within different contexts and settings. The DIY exhibition space, the “exhibition as art walk”, and hyper-ephemeral installations outside will be a trend this year, utilising the ingenuity and creativity of artists to think outside the box (of the traditional gallery space). 

Thematically and tonally, art over the past decade has been quite “serious” and met the moment of the times, engaging and investigating tougher topics and traumas the public eye had been becoming more aware of within the zeitgeist, especially in the fields of social justice and decolonisation – post-colonial art and literature being a heavy focus of the later 2010’s. I believe these topics are still going to be explored and approached, but I already sense a shift towards a celebration of identity and diaspora. 

Perhaps more broadly speaking, once again in the current global landscape, there will be an emphasis on “joy” in the art world (aside: Toronto based Art Forecast writer Tatum Dooley did an excellent residency on this topic last year) where exhibitions and art practices invite curiosity, audience interaction, celebrate whimsy, and encourage ways for the viewer, and the artist, to “have a little fun with it”. Think crossing disciplines or being a little irreverent in the historically silent, stoic, starched and proper chambers of art institutions, think poetry and video projection, pairing artworks with wine or cocktails, having hands-on messy learning experiences like painting or drawing classes in white cube galleries, hell, even doing yoga in art spaces will be happening this year. Mark my words. The four walls of the art gallery/space have always been intimidating to newcomers, but in line with the community based programming I was talking about earlier, allowing people to access and be introduced to art spaces via hobbies, interests, or learning experiences they are familiar with is going to be the way we make non-art people (..yet) feel comfortable in the art landscape. Hopefully, this might turn them into art enthusiasts like us in the Artist Ally circle, adding to our ever-growing beautiful tapestry of people of all different backgrounds, art practices, and lifestyles. More generally, art trends and artworks might be a bit more tongue-in-cheek this year, artwork will be playful, and artists will inspire and remind those feeling the doom of the news cycle to possibly crack a smile, let out a chuckle, or even change their perspective on the prevailing sentiments of humanity. Art is here to heal, protect, and challenge, and I think the nihilistic, detached irony that ushered us into this current global crisis of attitude will be replaced with inclusiveness and welcoming interactive environments, along with pointed, fun, and incisive humour. 

I know, I know, this has been a constant topic of mine throughout, but it always bears repeating. There is no bigger hindrance to a gallery’s ability to execute and prepare a show for an artist than the artist themselves not being prepared. What do I mean by this? In preparation for an exhibition, gallerists will have to catalogue their work into their inventory management systems – be it Excel or something more robust like ArtLogic or ArtCloud – and this is the first thing that happens when preparing for any show. Proper photos, artwork details, bios, CVs and statements being prepared well ahead of time are essential to not just putting on the show, but to marketing strategies, promotion, and the ability to manage/prepare logistics and install. This affords us the conditions to better serve you as an artist, and allows us to streamline our execution, which in turn means more success for you as an artist. The less time we have to spend re-photographing, double-checking titles of artworks, or data input, the better. This directly correlates to more time a gallery can spend making connections and promoting your work. 

I always suggest little tricks like titling your digital files and photographs in such a way to help remove any ambiguity and assist in cataloguing and organization within an inventory system and computer filing. It may seem simple, but having a .jpeg file name such as “Artist Name, Artwork Title, Year, Medium, Size,” will save you, and your gallerist/curators/friends/whoever an immense amount of time and frustration in the long run. 

I shouldn’t admit this, but there have been some very rare occasions where, as an art manager, an artist has been radically underprepared and late in sending us the required materials for an exhibition, and it completely cratered our ability to set them up for success. It limited our ability to send out exhibition previews to collectors in a timely manner, execute a PR strategy, and, in general, forced us to scramble in the days leading up to the exhibition rather than rolling it out comfortably. It was a nightmare fuelled by extremely short turnarounds, long days, anxiety and caffeine. As they always say, “let your art speak for itself,” but additionally, I’d say, “let your art administration speak for itself.” Having all that info readily available is so, so vital. As much as the gallerist has to do their part and work hard for you, the artist will benefit from doing some things on their end of the administration bargain to streamline and allow for efficient exhibition setup / turnover. Not doing this can sour a professional relationship quickly. Longstanding, healthy relationships and reputation among art professionals will go a lot further in the art world than being a phenomenal talent with bad habits.

We’re going to be introducing tools and strategies in the coming weeks to help you stay on top of your inventory, communication, and, in turn, hopefully, success as an artist! So stay tuned.

I don’t want to be an alarmist or scare anyone, but getting your artwork prices wrong at the beginning of your art career can ruin it before it even starts. Well, maybe ruin is a bit of a dramatic word, but you certainly won’t be doing yourself any favours during a crucial period of a hopefully long and successful career as an artist. This particular topic is tricky because the perception of value is important, and you never want to undervalue your time and your work. Too low a price and selling your artworks might be easier, but not sustainable: materials, and more importantly, your time, are valuable – price the work as such. That being said, I think the much bigger mistake is pricing your works too high: congratulations, you’ve immediately gouged your market and smarter, savvy collectors will no longer take you seriously.  It is much harder to lower your prices than to raise them without burning or confusing collectors, curators, consultants, gallerists, and your market at large. 

Look, I get it, art should be priceless, and as artists, you shouldn’t inherently be making art to make money; great art is born of wanting to express your own unique perspective, emotion, ideas, and passions, but sometimes the bills need to get paid. Therein lies the rub; there’s a personal attachment to the work, and for most artists, their work is their baby. It is hard to divorce how you, as an artist, value the work and how gallerists, collectors, and the world around you will value the work, so do not let ego get in the way of appropriate value assessment. I’ve seen the price dilemma happen a couple times to some promising new artists: they get bad advice, or they’re told their artwork “should be worth 3 times this” or it “could sell for $50,000!” from an overzealous supporter, and so they set their prices too high and then no one collects their work, or their exhibition fee spooks possible exhibitors. Pretty much game over before it even starts. Small steps are always the way to go, and gradual progress is key – that’s what makes a healthy strategy for your career over time. A Toronto-based art consultant Lio Projects was mentioning how it was frustrating that so many artists here in Canada are “pricing their works at $6,000+ without representation or a clear market strategy” and it is exactly this thinking as an artist that will preclude you from really participating in the art world with your peers, those who have perhaps entered the market at a more modest valuation. I break down the best way to price your art (at least 2-dimensional work) in my earlier article, which you can find here ⤵

Another, more niche trap I occasionally see artists fall into is what I call “pricing to the crowd”, where an artist becomes opportunistic and adjusts their valuation according to who might be in the room, or who might possibly be buying the work. This almost always backfires. A studio visit from a really rich friend, perhaps? A chat with a corporate curator from a wealthy company? A gallery in New York or London? There is sometimes this belief that wealthy people or institutions overpay for things, or that money is of no consequence to them – and sometimes that rings true – but on the other hand, usually people can tell when you see them as dollar signs or a get-rich-quick scheme. If someone does a little research and sees you were selling for X price here and Y price to them, you’ve immediately sown distrust, and establishing trust is the key to sales and good faith negotiation. I will say it every time this topic comes up (pricing artwork), consistency is key. 

Don’t hate me, as this one is more of a personal gripe – and less applicable to the Artist Ally circle at present – but I’m growing a little weary of exhibitions that are more reading than visual, or are centred around research and require larger swathes of text to understand or create meaning. I’m not talking about text-based artworks made famous by the likes of Jenny Holzer, Ed Ruscha or Barbara Kruger, all of whom I love. I’m talking about the overly academic thesis projects as art that took hold in the late 2010s and early 2020s; these have become a bit tired and need some retooling.

I must start with a salient counterpoint: I have often said the most memorable, gripping, and eye-opening exhibition was one I saw at the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) in 2017 by the group Forensic Architecture, a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, titled Forensic Architectures: Towards Investigative Aesthetics. They used novel research methods to undertake a series of investigations into human rights abuses, and recreated or displayed their methodology in a series of models across the 2nd floor of the museum. It was the first time I had ever seen anything like it, and I will never forget it. It forced me, and I assume all museum guests, to confront the appalling ways in which levers of power are exerted, hidden, and distort narratives to cover up crimes against humanity, or the earth. It was utterly captivating. I read every single word and every little placard, sometimes even twice, that was in that exhibition. I lingered for probably 4 or more hours, and now, almost 9 years later, I remember it entirely. I guess my point is that when well executed, this type of exhibition really works, but (don’t kill me) most of the time, they’re often really fucking boring. Museum fatigue is real, and having to chore through paragraphs of esoteric and inaccessible text is just so over, at least for me.

We want visual experiences! Auditory experiences! Both at the same time! We want to be wowed by scale! In awe of new mediums! Blow me away with something I can’t do at home! (Like reading!) This brings me back to my earlier point about “having fun with it” and making art an enjoyable, exciting experience. We really have been a bit too serious recently, and the idea that high/fine art needs to be serious, or intelligent-to-the-point of elitism, is flawed; art is for everybody. 

I’ll keep this one short and sweet: art comes from the heart, so should your exhibition text. Don’t outsource all your critical thinking and writing to LLMs; at best, have it read for typos, errors, or clean things up. They are great for summarising and arranging data, but with a trained eye, art and literature professionals can clock AI-written text, and honestly, it really does pump out the same repetitive adjectives. Although it is built to be impartial, and not supposed to have a personality or distinct writing style, ChatGPT does kind of have that strange, uncanny valley syntax that doesn’t feel quite right, or markedly human. There is a hilarious and highly perceptive article about this in the New York Times on the topic titled “Why does A.I Write Like… That?” Totally worth the read. 

Adding to this, I am sick of the artspeak, I am unendingly over, exhausted, and bored of seeing curators and art writers use the same adjectives to describe every single exhibition in the Western world. It has become such an entrenched practice of the art world as of late that it is now sewn into the fabric of the way we discuss, explain, and approach art. I often catch myself in these (bad) habits too, still occasionally using the classic “artspeak” words, and am actively trying to unlearn, or really, reduce their usage when I write exhibition texts. Words like “liminal”, “in-between states”, “destabilize”, dichotomy, and juxtaposition. Spend enough time reading exhibition brochures, and you’ll start see them over and over and over again. I now groan and roll my eyes at their rampant overuse.

Nietschze stated once that “They muddy the water, to make it seem deep,” meaning we in the art world have been using $10 words, overly complex language, and obscure-ish, esoteric vocabulary to seem more profound or to hide a shallow, incoherent meaning. A simple, accessible exhibition text will always be more charming and a better accompaniment to the artwork than a confusing monolith of jargon and filler. Your artwork is how you wanted to express yourself; if you were successful in doing so, you don’t really need to win the Pulitzer Prize for your artist’s statement. Don’t borrow from what the art world is doing right now – aim for clarity, aim for honesty, even if the words are simple. Hemingway made a career out of it. When asked about the vague lyrics of 80’s soft rock classic “In the Air Tonight”, Phil Collins stated, “They mean exactly what they feel like,” and honestly, no wonder that song is so damn good. Although they are indeed vague and not explicit, you really do feel what he means, so again, art comes from the heart, and so should be your exhibition text. 

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