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For its 18th edition, Lille Art Up!, the leading French contemporary art fair outside Paris, returns from 12 to 15 March 2026 at Lille Grand Palais. This new edition will bring together 90 French and international galleries around the theme “New Horizons”, celebrating emerging creation, research, and experimentation.

The fair will feature three major exhibitions: Théma, in partnership with the Regional Photography Centre in Douchy-les-Mines, offering an immersion into the world of German artist Isabelle Wenzel; Revelation by Collectors, which will pair young artists with collectors in an unprecedented format highlighting the essential role of the latter in the vitality of contemporary creation; and Interface, shining a spotlight on the new international wave with artists such as Elia Kalogianni (Greece), Esther Denis (Belgium), Florian Pugnaire (France), and Mané Pachec (Portugal).

The programme will be enriched by contributions from local cultural institutions, by the 5th edition of Hors-les-Murs by Lille Art Up!, and by the highly anticipated Nuit de l’Art, which will, for the first time, allow the public to award the prize for the best artistic performance.

Lille Art Up! 2026 positions itself as a living laboratory of contemporary creation — a place for encounters and discoveries for artists, collectors, and audiences curious about new forms of expression.

2026 Theme: New Horizons

From 12 to 15 March 2026, Lille Art Up! unveils its 18th edition, bringing young creation to the forefront.

More than ever, the contemporary art fair asserts its ambition: to offer a space for discovery, dialogue, and commitment in support of emerging creation. With “New Horizons” as its guiding thread, it opens up a field of reflection resolutely oriented towards artistic exploration, alternative aesthetics, and hybrid practices.

Committed and forward-looking, this theme invites established galleries to reaffirm their role as mediators by highlighting emerging talents, encourages young galleries to promote their bold artistic visions, and calls on cultural institutions to propose unexpected curatorial projects.

By embracing these new horizons, Lille Art Up! chooses to focus on artists who break down disciplinary boundaries, repurpose materials, and invent new forms of storytelling to powerfully question contemporary issues.

Their creative energy infuses the fair with a renewed dynamism, perceptible in the wealth of works on display — from accessible pieces for those starting a collection to creations already coveted on the art market. This diversity enables everyone, whether an experienced collector in search of new discoveries or a buyer drawn to emerging practices, to find a personal and singular entry point into the contemporary scene.

Marie-Françoise Bouttemy – Artistic Director, Lille Art Up!

Lille Art Up! 2026

From 12 to 15 March at Lille Grand Palais

Lille Art Up! in a few words

Lille Art Up! is a contemporary art fair created in 2008 by Lille Grand Palais. Every year, it welcomes about a hundred contemporary art galleries and 30,000 visitors during the four-days event.

As a must-see artistic event, Lille Art Up! is the first regional contemporary art fair with art galleries from Lille, Hauts-de-France, but also from France and abroad, all selected by an artistic committee.

A contemporary art gallery is an exhibition space specifically designed to showcase works of art and present them to the public. The art gallery selects the artists it wishes to exhibit and provides them not only with a space but also with special support to make their work known.

Like art galleries, the Lille art fair is also a privileged place for the works of contemporary artists. The artwork exhibited is various : paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, videos… Contemporary art is represented in all forms and styles.

To discover all the artists and their artwork presented during the fair, you can browse our pages dedicated to the galleries and artists and enjoy the experience of visiting an online art gallery. Lille Art Up! is also an epicenter of the art market in the region. Thus, collectors benefit from a privileged moment during the opening of the fair to discover contemporary artists and their work.

As a true cultural event, the fair also welcomes partners such as museums in Lille and its area, art schools, art centers and other cultural structures, thus creating a real dynamic between the various players from the art world.

In parallel with the art galleries, Lille Art Up! also hosts contemporary art exhibitions around a different theme each year. Some of these exhibitions are presented by museums or cultural structures, others highlight new artists. The contemporary art fair of Lille is also revealing talents by hosting each year the Revelation by Lille Art Up! event which presents the works of young student artists from the Euroregion.

The artistic committee

The artistic committee of Lille Art Up! studies each gallery's application on the basis of an iconographic file presenting the selection of works that the gallery owner wishes to exhibit during the fair.

Anne-Cécile

HERVÉ

Director of Lille Art Up! President of the committee

Marie-Françoise

BOUTTEMY

Lille Art Up! artistic director

Alexis

KOUZMINE-KARAVAÏEFF

Co-founder and director of Artemisia

Annuschka

LEUNG

Off Course Brussels co-director

Eddy

NEBEL

Art collector

Maxime

DUFOUR

Photographer

Emmanuel

PROVOST

Art collector

Discover Lille Grand Palais

Save the date Lille Art Up! 2025

Save the date

Lille Art Up! returns for its 18th edition from March 12 to 15, 2026.
Ticket sales will open soon

Relive the 2025 edition Billeterie

Art Up! arrives in Grenoble

In 2024, the Art Up! brand was exported to the Grenoble region by co-creating Grenoble Art Up! with ALPEXPO.

See you at ALPEXPO from 24 to 27 September 2026 for the third edition.

Grenoble Art Up! Billeterie