Art world report·Paris
Asia NOW Returns to Paris for a 12th Edition Built Around 'Sentimental Value'
Asia NOW, the fair devoted to contemporary art from Asia and its diasporas, opens its 12th edition at the Monnaie de Paris from 20 to 24 October, with an invitation-only preview on 19 October. Themed 'Sentimental Value', the edition features returning galleries such as Esther Schipper and Kaikai Kiki alongside first-time participants, a public programme of performances and talks, and 'The Third Space' — a section of installations and moving-image works threaded through the historic building.
Asia NOW returns to Paris this October for its 12th edition, taking over the Monnaie de Paris from 20 to 24 October, with an invitation-only preview on 19 October. For more than a decade, the fair has championed contemporary art from Asia and its diasporas, positioning itself as something other than a conventional marketplace — a space, in its own telling, for relationships, community and continuity rather than simple transaction.
This year's edition is organised around the idea of 'Sentimental Value': a form of value shaped by what is inherited, what is encountered and what is chosen to be carried forward. The theme informs a fair that treats Asia less as a fixed geography than as a methodology — a set of exchanges, migrations and relationships that continually redraw the region's borders. That outlook shapes both the gallery list and the programming.
Returning galleries include Esther Schipper (Paris and Berlin), Kaikai Kiki Gallery (Tokyo), Sabrina Amrani (Madrid), Loy Contemporary (Singapore) and The Drawing Room (Manila), reinforcing the fair's long-standing international network. First-time participants include Spazio Nobile, Pao Hui Kao, Did Ng Wing Yin, VER Gallery (Bangkok), Double Square (Taipei) and Lux Feminae (New York). Chicago's Tala gallery will present previously unseen works by Jon Cuyson, who represented the Philippines at the Venice Biennale, alongside THE Gallery's presentation including Nomin Bold, the artist featured at the Mongolian Pavilion.
The Public Programme extends the fair beyond the booths with performances, talks and cross-cultural conversations, including performances by Wayang Women, Samboleap Tol and Berlin-based Filipino artist Alvin Collantes, a project by Dr. Sara Raza and contributions from Indonesian curator Alia Swastika of the Biennale Jogja Foundation. Meanwhile 'The Third Space', launched in 2025, returns as a section of installation and moving-image works threaded as a parcours through the Monnaie de Paris's corridors, vestibules and intersecting spaces — placing contemporary work in dialogue with one of Paris's most visually striking historic landmarks.
