Urban Art Fair

Urban Art Fair: Street Art Enters the Fairs

Urban Art Fair was born in 2016 from the initiative of Yannick Boesso, its founding president, who identified the absence of an international fair dedicated to street art and contemporary urban art. While graffiti, stencils, collage, and mural installations have been conquering museums and private collections since the 2000s, no reference commercial event allowed specialized galleries to meet and present this booming market.

From its very first edition at the Carreau du Temple, the fair met with great success among collectors, enthusiasts, and the general public. Urban art, long confined to the streets and perceived as a marginal movement, found with Urban Art Fair a space for legitimation and commercial and artistic valorization.

The Carreau du Temple: A Showcase for Urban Art

The Carreau du Temple, a former covered market in the Marais district of Paris, offers an industrial architectural setting — metal framework, glass roof — that resonates with the raw aesthetic and energy of street art. The modular space allows for gallery stands to be set up alongside monumental installations, graffiti walls, and live performances.

A Program That Goes Beyond the Fair

Urban Art Fair is not limited to the exhibition and sale of artworks. The fair offers a dense event program:

• Live Performances: Artists create live in front of the public, conveying the energy of the street
• Artist Signings: Book and limited edition signing sessions
• Conferences: Round tables on the urban art market, the place of street art in art history, and conservation issues
• Screenings: Documentary short films on urban art
• Outdoor Installations: Works visible from the public space, in the spirit of street art

2026 Edition: The Tenth Anniversary

The 2026 edition marks the tenth anniversary of Urban Art Fair. For this special occasion, the fair hosts 45 exhibitors and presents 140 artists from nine countries. Among the highlights, rapper and artist Oli (from Bigflo & Oli) launches a dedicated space within the fair, demonstrating the bridges between urban cultures, music, and visual arts.

This anniversary edition aims to take stock of ten years of urban art in the art market and outline future trends, confirming Urban Art Fair as the European barometer of street art.