Art Cologne 2026 — Dates, Tickets, Exhibitors & Guide

Founded in 1967, Art Cologne is the world’s oldest art fair for modern and contemporary art, and a cornerstone of the global art market.
Each spring, Cologne transforms into an art capital, attracting more than 200 galleries from 20 countries and over 60,000 visitors — collectors, museum curators, and art enthusiasts from across Europe and beyond. The 2026 edition focuses on “Art and the Human Condition”, exploring how artists capture emotional resilience, cultural change, and the tension between technology and humanity.

Expect masterpieces by icons like Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer, and Sigmar Polke, alongside avant-garde digital installations, photography, and sculpture.

🌍 It’s not just a fair — it’s a dialogue between eras, uniting tradition and innovation under the vast glass roof of Koelnmesse.

• The mission of Art Cologne has always been to foster the global art ecosystem while preserving Europe’s cultural legacy.
• Through curated sections such as “Galleries,” “Neumarkt” (young galleries), and “Collaborations,” Art Cologne continues to support emerging voices and encourage cross-generational exchange.

💬 As Artistic Director Daniel Hug notes:

“Art Cologne remains a place where art history meets the future — where collectors don’t just buy, they participate in shaping cultural memory.”

• 🎫 General Admission: €30
• 🎫 Students/Seniors: €20
• 🎫 Preview Pass: €50
• 🎫 Children under 12: Free

Art Cologne was born from a revolutionary idea: to create a fair that gives equal value to contemporary art and historical modernism.
It has since become a blueprint for major global fairs like Art Basel and Frieze.

From the early promotion of Pop Art and Fluxus to today’s digital frontiers, Art Cologne has shaped Europe’s artistic DNA for over half a century.

✨ Every edition reaffirms the fair’s reputation as Europe’s cultural heartbeat — timeless, human, and visionary.