Art Collaboration Kyoto opened its sixth edition on 7 November, with 63 galleries from 18 countries and regions gathering at the Kyoto International Conference Center for a three-day run. A preview for press and invited guests was held the day before.

Founded in 2021, the fair's signature idea is the gallery collaboration: a Japanese gallery invites an overseas counterpart to share a single booth, producing combinations of artists and works that a conventional fair layout would rarely allow. This year the fair also arrives with a new structure: a seven-person leadership committee has replaced the single programme director role held by Yukako Yamashita since 2022, and Yamashita has moved to chair a new ACK Ambassadors group focused on the fair's international network.

The exhibitor count has fallen from last year's record 72, but the organisers say the fair has grown in scale rather than shrunk: more galleries applied for large booths, allowing bigger and more ambitious presentations. With the change in leadership, the fair has also dropped its single overarching theme, letting each programme develop its own character instead.

Among the first-time participants are Hauser & Wirth, appearing in partnership with Tokyo's Taro Nasu, and London's Carlos/Ishikawa, joining Taka Ishii Gallery. The fair runs until 9 November, overlapping with a crowded Kyoto art week that also includes the temple-based CURATION-FAIR Kyoto, which runs until 8 November.