ABOUT THE FAIR
The IFPDA Print Fair was established in 1991 and has been held annually, with the exception of 2001 and 2020-21. Organized annually by the IFPDA, the IFPDA Print Fair is the largest and longest-running art fair celebrating 500 years of printmaking. All ticket proceeds benefit the IFPDA Foundation, which funds curatorial, exhibition, and research grants in the field of printmaking. The IFPDA Print Fair is held at Park Avenue Armory in the spring of each year, and features a wide array of our member dealers showcasing their best and brightest works of art from artists of all generations.
The IFPDA Print Fair features a broad variety of programming with conversations between artists, curators, and collectors on various current topics in the art world. In 2019, programs showcased artists such as Jeff Koons, William Tillyer, and Jim Dine, among many others. Enhancing these sessions, groundbreaking curators like Christophe Cherix and Tim Goosens, as well as major art influencers Jordan Schnitzer and Helen Rosslyn dove deep into the trending topics surrounding printmaking as a medium.
HISTORY
The inaugural IFPDA Print Fair was held at the historical Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in November of 1991. The IFPDA Print Fair continued to be held the first week of November every year at the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue up until 2016 when the Print Fair relocated to the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan and became known as the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair.
In response to the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the International Fine Print Dealers Association produced a virtual IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair which ran for one month in May through June. The event featured works of art from over 125 international members of the IFPDA. In October of 2020, without the ability to present its annual show in person at the Javits Center, the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair further expanded its online presentation to incorporate private, socially distanced in-person and/or virtual booth tours along with its 100+ virtual booths.
In addition to the Fair itself, the IFPDA also organizes New York’s annual Print Week events around New York City which coordinate with the dates of the Print Fair in late October. These events include VIP tours of current print exhibitions at some of the largest and most well-known institutions throughout New York, as well as private tours of member galleries and artists’ studios. In 2020, Print Week was moved online to fully grasp the advantages of the international reach of the digital age amidst a worldwide pandemic that canceled in-person events and programming. The IFPDA expanded its programming to a whole month of virtual programs making it the first Print Month. Participants and presenters included dozens of artists such as Dale Chihuly, Swoon, Christiane Baumgartner, and Jeffrey Gibson, as well as curators from The National Gallery (Washington DC), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Frick Collection (New York), Portland Museum of Art (Oregon), the Musee d’Orsay (Paris, France), British Museum (London, UK), Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, MA), Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco (CA).
SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS
The IFPDA Print Fair is directly supported by the International Fine Print Dealers Association, Inc. (IFPDA) and the IFPDA Foundation. The IFPDA was founded on July 27, 1987 and is known as the authority on fine art prints and their connoisseurship and collection. With more than 150 members in thirteen countries, members of the IFPDA reflect a worldwide community of expert art dealers from old master to contemporary as well as publishers of editions by internationally renowned contemporary artists. Through its network, online presence, and public programs, the IFPDA fosters knowledge and stimulates discussion about collecting prints in the public sphere and the global art community.
The IFPDA Foundation was established by the International Fine Print Dealers Association in 2009. The IFPDA Foundation aims to inspire and support educational projects aimed at fostering connoisseurship in the field of fine prints for a new generation of collectors, curators, and specialists. Its annual grants program provides direct financial support to exhibitions and scholarly projects that cultivate a deeper understanding of prints and their value as an art form. In 2014, the Foundation initiated its Curatorial Internship Program which funds internships in museum print collections. (IFPDA Foundation) Funding for the IFPDA Foundation is provided by individual donations and by proceeds from the IFPDA Print Fair and IFPDA Membership dues. All of the IFPDA Member Dealers are proud to support this mission.