{"id":3164,"date":"2025-04-04T17:09:57","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T17:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/04\/heather-hubbs-on-how-nada-has-changed-and-all-the-ways-it-hasnt\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T17:10:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T17:10:03","slug":"heather-hubbs-on-how-nada-has-changed-and-all-the-ways-it-hasnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/04\/heather-hubbs-on-how-nada-has-changed-and-all-the-ways-it-hasnt\/","title":{"rendered":"Heather Hubbs On How NADA Has Changed\u2014and All the Ways It Hasn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 22nd edition of NADA Miami will open on Tuesday, December 3, at Ice Palace Studios. NADA Art fair<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NADA will return to New York on May 7, setting up for the first time inside the iconic Starrett-Lehigh Building in West Chelsea in a move that brings the fair closer to Frieze and places it firmly in the heart of Chelsea\u2019s gallery district. The 2025 edition of the New Art Dealers Alliance fair will welcome more than 100 exhibitors, with fifty-four first-time participants, including Eugster from Belgrade, Gallery Common from Tokyo, CONSTITUCI\u00d3N from Buenos Aires, Dohing Art from Seoul, Galerie Noah Klink from Berlin and DARLA from New York.<\/p>\n

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Ahead of this year\u2019s fair, Observer caught up with executive director Heather Hubbs<\/a> to discuss NADA\u2019s evolution from a small New York gallery association into an international coalition and multi-edition fair. The New Art Dealers Alliance was originally launched as a nonprofit initiative led by a small group of New York galleries seeking a more collaborative approach to art market machinations\u2014one that prioritized shared resources and best practices embraced by peers. Today, NADA still functions, first and foremost, as a gallery association and remains focused on fostering an ecosystem where collaboration and exchange are central to art world success.<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO: With a Buoyant Opening, SP\u2013Arte Showcases the Strength of a Self-Sufficient Brazilian Art Market<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to Hubbs, the idea of launching a fair emerged only after association members pointed out the lack of a platform for young galleries to present during Miami Art Week. \u201cAt the time, there was only Art Basel and Scope as art fairs in Miami. The only space in Art Basel for young galleries was in these containers on the beach. It was very limited.\u201d NADA was very much a direct response to a known challenge.<\/p>\n

Initially, the New Art Dealers Alliance approached Tom Blackman, then director of Art Fair Chicago, where Hubbs was working at the time. But Blackman was uninterested in pursuing the idea, so the association forged ahead on its own, launching NADA as an alternative fair in Miami. The first edition was held in 2003 in a vacant retail space off Lincoln Road. \u201cIt was a very DIY, low-budget fair with around thirty exhibitors,\u201d Hubbs, who attended that year as a visitor, recalled. \u201cMany dealers did very well; some even sold out. Two galleries even made enough money to move from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Overall, it was a success.\u201d The following year, NADA invited Hubbs to become director\u2014a position she has held ever since.<\/p>\n

\"Poeple\"Poeple
NADA Paris in 2024. NADA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we spoke, Hubbs made sure to emphasize that NADA continues to prioritize its role as a platform that supports its members beyond the art fairs<\/a> with programming throughout the year. \u201cWe\u2019re really interested in our members coming to us and letting us know what they need from us,\u201d she said. This ongoing exchange has inspired international initiatives like Villa Warsaw, which brought the NADA fair model to the Polish capital at the request of local dealers. And some programs have been launched spontaneously by the association\u2019s members. For instance, in L.A., a group of galleries now hosts \u201cDealers and Donuts\u201d on rotation\u2014a casual gathering where art world professionals can discuss shared challenges and address some of the industry\u2019s most pressing concerns.<\/p>\n

NADA has, since its inception, steadily expanded into a truly international association and a series of art fairs, with more than 250 members across continents as of 2024 and NADA editions in Miami, New York and, as of last year, Paris. Hubbs shared that one of NADA\u2019s main goals moving forward is to become even more global\u2014both in terms of attracting collectors from around the world and cultivating a genuinely international network of member galleries. The New Art Dealers Alliance is currently exploring the possibility of expanding into Asia. \u201cThere is nothing confirmed yet,\u201d Hubbs clarified. \u201cBut personally, I would like to develop that direction. We are having talks about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People\"People
Last year\u2019s edition of NADA New York. Jason Lowrie\/BFA.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So many NADA members have grown alongside the organization to the point where it\u2019s increasingly reductive to describe it solely as a fair for emerging galleries. \u201cI\u2019ve always considered the \u2018new\u2019 to refer to the alliance part more than its member profiles,\u201d Hubbs said. \u201cThis was one of the first international alliances of galleries and the first to have an international breadth.\u201d On the other hand, NADA recently launched a mentorship program in which more established members offer guidance to less experienced dealers looking for support.<\/p>\n

One additional priority NADA has maintained over the years is a clear curatorial focus and a commitment to artistic integrity, as the association continues to highlight the best of contemporary art production. In line with this dedication to fostering curatorial thinking, the upcoming edition of NADA New York will see the return of the TD Bank Curated Spotlight. This year\u2019s iteration centers on galleries and artists from Texas and Mexico and is organized and curated by Owen Duffy<\/a>, director of exhibitions at Asia Society Texas.<\/p>\n

NADA New York<\/a> opens to VIPs on May 7, 2025, and is open to the public through Sunday, May 11.<\/b><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Heather<\/p><\/div>\n