Condo, swaps and residencies: When galleries reinvent the international without fairs

Five years later, in 2021, as the pandemic paralyzed traditional fairs, Condo organized its first fully digital edition, proving the model could adapt to crises. Meanwhile, in Paris, Art Explora’s "Crossed Residencies" program sent Senegalese artists to the Cité Internationale des Arts and French artists to Dakar, turning residencies into true exhibition platforms. These initiatives aren’t mere alternatives to fairs—they’re redefining what it means to "exhibit internationally" in an art market where a booth at Art Basel can cost €100,000, with no guarantee of return.

01When fairs become an unaffordable luxury

The art fair model, as it has dominated since the 1970s, relies on a simple equation: visibility in exchange for investment. A booth at Art Basel costs between €50,000 and €100,000, not including transportation, insurance, installation, and staff expenses. For an emerging gallery like Los Angeles’ Hannah Hoffman or Hong Kong’s Empty Gallery, these costs often represent several months of revenue. The 2023 Art Basel/UBS report reveals that 42% of surveyed galleries consider fairs their biggest expense, ahead of rent and salaries.

Yet the returns aren’t always there. A 2022 specialist online platforms study shows that only 30% of galleries participating in a major fair make enough sales to cover their costs. The rest bet on the "shop window" effect—but in a saturated market with 300 fairs held annually, this strategy has reached its limits. "Fairs have become a necessity, but also a financial trap," explains Vanessa Carlos, founder of Condo. "Many galleries go out of fear of missing out, not because it’s profitable."

This economic pressure has pushed some players to seek alternatives. As early as the 1980s, gallerist Yvon Lambert organized exchanges between his Paris and New York spaces—a pioneering practice that foreshadowed Condo. But it was truly in 2016 that the model took off, with the first London edition bringing together 18 host galleries and 18 guest galleries. The principle? Sharing costs, spaces, and audiences, without the filter of fairs.

02Condo: the model that won over the blue chips

Condo functions like a kind of "rental platforms for galleries": established spaces (like London’s White Cube or Sadie Coles) host guest galleries (such as New York’s Company Gallery or Los Angeles’ Hannah Hoffman) for four to six weeks. Host galleries provide their space, team, and local network, while guests bring their artists and programming. Costs are shared, and any profits go to the guest gallery.

What sets Condo apart from traditional fairs is its collaborative rather than competitive approach. "At a fair, you’re competing with 200 other booths for collectors’ attention," explains Vanessa Carlos. "With Condo, you share space with just one other gallery, allowing for more ambitious presentations and longer conversations with visitors." In 2022, the New York edition saw David Zwirner host Hong Kong’s Empty Gallery—a collaboration unlikely at a conventional fair.

Condo’s success also lies in its flexibility. Unlike fairs, which impose standardized formats, guest galleries can adapt their presentations to the host space. In 2019, during Condo Mexico City, kurimanzutto gallery transformed OMR’s space into an immersive installation for artist Gabriel Orozco—a proposition that wouldn’t fit in a fair booth. "Condo let us show works that need time and space," says Patricia Ortiz Monasterio, kurimanzutto’s director. "That’s impossible at a fair where visitors spend an average of 30 seconds per booth."

03Crossed residencies: when artists become ambassadors

While Condo focuses on galleries, other models use artists to build international bridges. Art Explora’s "Crossed Residencies" program, launched in 2021, is a striking example. Funded by the Art Explora Foundation and partnered with about fifteen residencies worldwide (from Paris’ Cité Internationale des Arts to Dakar’s Raw Material Company), the initiative sends French artists abroad and welcomes foreign artists to France, with the mission of creating works in dialogue with their new environment.

Unlike traditional residencies, where artists often work in isolation, Crossed Residencies incorporate a public dimension from the start. Guest artists exhibit their work-in-progress, organize workshops and meetings, turning their residency into an exchange platform. In 2022, Senegalese artist Selly Raby Kane spent three months in Paris, collaborating with students from the École des Beaux-Arts to create an immersive installation presented at the Palais de Tokyo. "What interests me isn’t so much the final work as the shared creative process," she explains. "Crossed residencies let us step out of artistic bubbles and build bridges between scenes that don’t talk enough."

This model has several advantages over fairs. First, it’s less expensive: a three-month residency costs between €10,000 and €20,000, compared to €50,000–100,000 for a fair booth. Second, it enables deeper, more lasting collaborations. Finally, it emphasizes creation over sales, which suits emerging or experimental artists particularly well. "Fairs are made for selling, not creating," summarizes Marine Van Schoonbeek, Art Explora’s director. "Residencies let you take risks."

04The visibility challenge: how to attract collectors without fairs?

One of the main arguments for fairs is their ability to draw collectors from around the world. How can Condo or crossed residencies compete with the purchasing power concentration of a fair like Art Basel? The answer lies in targeted communication and leveraging local networks.

Condo bets on what could be called the "festival effect." By concentrating several guest galleries in one city over a limited period, the model creates a media event that attracts collectors and press attention. The 2018 London edition generated over 50 articles in specialized media (Artforum, Frieze, The Art Newspaper) and drew collectors like François Pinault and Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. "Condo turned London into an artistic destination for a month," explains Gregor Muir, Tate Modern’s director. "That’s something a fair can’t offer."

To maximize visibility, participating galleries also use digital tools. Since 2020, Condo has offered a "Condo Passport," an app that maps exhibitions and lets visitors follow thematic routes through the city. Galleries also organize satellite events—performances, conferences, dinners—to create meeting moments with collectors. "We sold several works at dinners during Condo," says Hannah Hoffman. "These informal moments are often more effective than crowded fair openings."

Crossed residencies, meanwhile, rely on partnerships with local institutions to reach broader audiences. In 2023, French artist Julien Creuzet, in residency in Dakar, presented his work at the Musée des Civilisations Noires, attracting a Senegalese public unlikely to visit a contemporary art fair. "The challenge isn’t just to exhibit internationally, but to create dialogues with new audiences," explains Claire Tancons, the program’s associate curator.

05The economic model: who pays what?

One of Condo and crossed residencies’ major strengths is their more balanced economic model compared to fairs. In Condo’s case, costs are shared between host and guest galleries. The former covers space rental, communication, and staff expenses, while the latter handles artwork transportation, insurance, and installation. Sales go entirely to the guest gallery, allowing it to recoup its participation.

For crossed residencies, funding comes mainly from foundations and public institutions. Art Explora, for example, covers artists’ travel, accommodation, and production costs, while partner residencies provide workspaces and studios. "Our goal isn’t immediate profitability, but building lasting networks," explains Marine Van Schoonbeek. "In the long term, these residencies can generate sales, but that’s not our priority."

This model has several advantages over fairs. First, it reduces financial risks for galleries and artists. Second, it allows for more ambitious programming, as budget constraints are less restrictive. Finally, it fosters long-term collaborations. "Condo helped us meet collectors we’d never have encountered at a fair," says Leo Xu, Empty Gallery’s director. "Some have become regular supporters of our programming."

06The model’s limits: can fairs really be replaced?

Despite their advantages, Condo and crossed residencies aren’t miracle solutions. Their main challenge is competing with fairs’ appeal to collectors. "Fairs offer a unique concentration of works and galleries," explains Thaddaeus Ropac, whose gallery participates in both Condo and Art Basel. "It’s hard to replicate that density in a decentralized model."

Another challenge is logistics. Organizing gallery exchanges or international residencies requires complex coordination, especially when transporting fragile works or managing artist visas. "Condo works well for galleries with some international experience," explains Vanessa Carlos. "For smaller structures, it’s more complicated."

Finally, some market players remain skeptical about these models’ ability to generate sales. "Serious collectors still go to fairs," says an anonymous Parisian gallerist. "Condo and residencies are interesting for visibility, but not for business." A 2023 Artprice study indeed shows that 65% of contemporary art sales still go through fairs and auctions.

07Toward a hybrid ecosystem?

Rather than replacing fairs, Condo and crossed residencies might complement them, creating a more diverse ecosystem. Some galleries are already mixing both models. In 2023, Perrotin gallery participated in Condo New York while maintaining its presence at Art Basel. "The two approaches are complementary," explains Emmanuel Perrotin. "Condo lets us show more ambitious works and build connections with new galleries, while fairs remain essential for sales."

Other players are exploring hybrid formats. In 2021, Frieze fair launched "No.9 Cork Street," a London space where guest galleries present exhibitions over several weeks, in a Condo-inspired format. "We’re trying to build bridges between fairs and collaborative models," explains Victoria Siddall, Frieze’s director. "The future of contemporary art probably lies in combining these approaches."

Residencies, meanwhile, could evolve toward more commercial formats. Some galleries are integrating residencies into their programming, like Paris’ Chantal Crousel gallery, which regularly hosts artists in residency before exhibiting them. "It’s a way to build deeper connections with artists and collectors," explains Chantal Crousel. "And it can lead to sales, even if that’s not the primary goal."

08International without fairs: a new paradigm?

What emerges from these experiments is a new way of thinking about the international in contemporary art. Instead of focusing on a few hubs (Basel, Miami, Hong Kong), these models bet on decentralized networks, where any city can become a temporary exchange platform. "Contemporary art no longer needs to concentrate in a few fairs to exist," explains Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of the Serpentine Gallery. "Models like Condo or crossed residencies show you can create visibility without going through traditional circuits."

This decentralization has several advantages. First, it reduces the art market’s carbon footprint by limiting artwork transportation for ephemeral events. Second, it allows better representation of emerging scenes that can’t always afford major fairs. Finally, it fosters more lasting collaborations between galleries, artists, and institutions.

For galleries and artists, the challenge now is finding the right balance between these new models and traditional fairs. "There’s no single solution," summarizes Vanessa Carlos. "The important thing is to stay flexible and not get locked into one model." In an increasingly complex art market, this adaptability might well become the key to success.