Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront has become an unlikely stage for one of the most ambitious recalibrations of the global art fair model in recent memory. This week marks the debut of CONDUCTOR at Powerhouse Arts in Gowanus, a new fair that positions itself not just as another stop on New York’s crowded spring calendar, but as a structural intervention—one that centers artists and galleries from the Global Majority, with a particularly strong presence from Latin America.
Curated by Adriana Farietta, CONDUCTOR arrives at a moment when the art world is actively questioning its own economic and geographic hierarchies. The fair brings together over 30 participants spanning Latin America, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and beyond. Yet its ambitions extend beyond representation. It seeks to dismantle some of the logistical and financial barriers that have historically excluded many of these regions from meaningful participation in the international fair circuit.
Latin American galleries are especially prominent within this framework. Spaces such as São Paulo’s Mazzucchelli Cardoso and Guatemala City’s Galería Extra exemplify the fair’s commitment to presenting work that might otherwise struggle to reach U.S. audiences. For these exhibitors, CONDUCTOR offers not just visibility, but a rare opportunity to experiment. Freed from the pressure to recoup exorbitant booth fees, galleries can take curatorial risks—showing work that is conceptually ambitious rather than purely market-driven.
That shift is crucial. As Farietta notes, traditional fairs often incentivize predictability: artworks that will sell quickly, safely, and at scale. CONDUCTOR attempts to reverse that logic. Its lower costs, visa support, and—perhaps most significantly—on-site fabrication capabilities allow galleries to prioritize artistic intent over logistical survival.
The setting plays a central role in this reimagining. Powerhouse Arts, a 170,000-square-foot former power station, houses advanced facilities for printmaking, ceramics, and large-scale fabrication. This infrastructure enables artists to produce work locally, sidestepping the prohibitive costs and uncertainties of international shipping. In its inaugural edition, this model is already visible: a limited-edition print by artist duo Bugarin + Castle has been fabricated on site to accompany their interactive installation, Sore Throat.
For Latin American artists, this approach is particularly impactful. Shipping large or complex works from the region to the United States has long been a financial and bureaucratic challenge. By relocating production to Brooklyn, CONDUCTOR not only reduces costs but also creates new possibilities for scale and experimentation. The result is a fair where the work feels immediate—less burdened by transit, more responsive to context.
This emphasis comes into sharp focus across a range of Latin American and Latinx presentations that anchor the fair. Guadalajara-based artist Isa Carrillo, presented by Tiro al Blanco, debuts Threshold, a series of embroidered textiles that extend her ongoing project “OR.” Rooted in the notion of transition between states, the works dwell in the liminal—what Carrillo frames as a space of waiting—rendered through intricate textile compositions that visualize energy in flux. Elsewhere, Galleries Mimo and Hidrante spotlight Esmelyn Miranda and Margarita Vincenty, whose practices repurpose discarded and overlooked materials into layered narratives of social, political, and ecological transformation. Vincenty’s use of plastic waste, wood, and found objects becomes an abstract meditation on regeneration and the life cycle of matter.
At PROXYCO, Colombian artist Pablo Gómez Uribe presents a tightly focused solo booth examining the subtle material markers of gentrification, merging forensic observation with aesthetic inquiry. Morgan Lehman and Embajada introduce a solo presentation by Edra Soto, while Extra Galería features the RojoNegro Collective—María Sosa and Noé Martínez—whose project draws from their long-term process Tepalcates de sueños, where dreaming operates as a methodology for reconnecting fractured ancestral histories. Henrique Faria’s presentation of Venezuelan contemporary art foregrounds resilience and cultural continuity amid political and economic upheaval. Meanwhile, Lido Pimienta’s Felt, Portraits brings a multidisciplinary approach shaped by her Afro Wayuu Colombian-Canadian identity, weaving together textiles, ceramics, and performance.
Pablo Gómez Uribe, Urban Memories of a Recent Future. PROXYCO Gallery
Despite its international scope, the fair remains grounded in its Brooklyn context. With a $15 entry fee—significantly lower than most major fairs—and an emphasis on public programming, it invites local audiences to engage directly with artists and galleries they might otherwise encounter only abroad. In doing so, it reframes New York not as a gatekeeper, but as a meeting point.
There is, inevitably, a degree of idealism in CONDUCTOR’s model. Encouraging galleries to commit earlier, experiment more, and rely on shared infrastructure requires a shift in mindset across the board. Yet the early signals suggest that many are willing to embrace that change—particularly those from regions like Latin America, where the stakes of access and representation are especially high.
Amid the frenzy of New York’s spring art season, CONDUCTOR offers something quieter but potentially more consequential: a genuine opportunity to encounter voices from other latitudes—artists and perspectives that exist beyond the usual circuits of mainstream visibility in the world’s major art capitals—bringing into focus practices that sit outside of, and push against, dominant art scenes.
Juliana Cerquiera Leite, DOWN 2 (2022). PROXYCO Gallery
CONDUCTOR. Art Fair of the Global Majority. At Powerhouse Arts. April 29-May 3, 2026
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