Exploring the Unique Identity of the Nordic Art World
Notes on CHART Art Fair 2025
CHART Art Fair was established in 2013 with the ambition to challenge the format of a traditional art fair and develop the impact and role of a Nordic art event on the international art and cultural scene. CHART is non-profit venture and is more about attracting the international art world, collectors and art professionals to the region than making money.
The purpose of the art fair is to introduce the world to the art scene of the Nordic region while also actively engaging local audiences, where qualities like inspiration, experience, encouragement, and well-being are vital.
The art fair always takes place at Charlottenborg in the heart of Copenhagen, which serves as the base for Kunsthal Charlottenborg, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and CHART’s teams offices. The location also helps younger audiences to be heavily involved into CHART.
The building has two courtyards which are used for a free public program – the talks throughout the weekend, performances, music on Friday and Saturday night. Both courtyards are the main place where all the fair’s attendees can meet, socialise and enjoy coffee, food and drinks. The visitors do not need to buy a ticket for these events, which means there is a need for CHART to apply for funding for the public program, and unfortunately that is one of the challenges for the organisers’ team.
Anselm Reyle, Untilted
The art fair’s team admits that making sure all of these activities – the events, parties, talks, performances, and the happenings around the fair – to fit inside the budget is not easy. The galleries pay to participate at the fair, but it is not much in comparison to the fee to other art fairs. The money basically only just covers the whole event’s running costs and the staff, based on the organisers’ message.
Asta Lynge, Audience, 2024
For CHART 2025, there was introduced the inaugural edition of CHART Public – a new concept that combines a total installation inside the courtyards at Charlottenborg. Actually, in 2025 CHART decided to shine a light on art in the public space, emphasising the important role of art in challenging people to think differently, bringing them together, sparkling debate and shaping shared environment.
For the first edition of CHART Public, the courtyard was transformed into a total artistic installation. Earlier in the spring, there was sent out an open call inviting teams of scenographers, designers, architects and artists to re-imagine the space inside the historical architecture of the Charlottenborg courtyards. The competition brief called for innovative stagings, with a distinct wow-factor that would create social space and set the tone for guests who would be arriving to CHART throughout the art fair’s dates.
Oda Sønderland, Komponisten, 2025
After receiving large numbers of submissions from teams from across Denmark, this year’s competition jury selected Re-Route as the winning proposal to be realised at Charlottenborg during the final weeks of August.
Re-Route transformed familiar urban elements into a luminous social landscape, reimagining standard Danish traffic cones – symbols of caution and construction – as floating beacons of community and celebration. Suspended from a steel scaffolding structure, hundreds of cones form a dynamic overhead canopy that invites visitors to experience a familiar space in a new way. Built from reusable materials that will return to their original use after the event, the installation followed a circular design approach to minimise waste while maximising impact. At the same time, it felt like a “bloody plastic” assault on the visitors who were standing beneath those closely spaced, bright red cones. Re-Route was designed by architect Samuel Charles Barratt.
This year besides the established and world-known galleries like i8 (IS), STANDARD (NO) and Andersen’s (DK), there was a showcased presentation by leading galleries from across the Nordic region. In particular, galleries – C.C.C (DK), Galleri Cora Hillebrand (SE), ISCA Gallery (NO), Lagune Ouest (DK), Matteo Cantarella (DK), and NEVVEN (SE) – highlighted the galleries presenting new approaches to the Nordic art scene, showing in the Please Notice section of the fair.
Work by Anna Stahn
CHART 2025 welcomed 25 000 visitors this year compared to 22 000 of the last year, based on the art fair’s office data. CHART team has been very positive also when it came to sales and based on this the art fair has been considered as a great success. Jesper Elg, founder of V1 Gallery (DK) reviled that the sales have exceeded expectations. The gallery presented Frederik Nystrup-Larsen’s series of paintings and sculptures. Alice Folker who is a Chair of the Danish Galleries Association said that all the galleries have been satisfied with the collectors’ activities in relation to the purchasing artworks and that collectors were looking to expand their collections in supporting new generation artists. Alice Folker Gallery presented new earthenware vessels by Karim Boumjimar, over dimensioned bronze sculptures of ears by Ragnhild May, wall sculptures with women figures and oysters by Anna Stahn alongside paintings by Frederik Næblerød. The Alice Folker Gallery completed sales agreements with Danish art organisations while selling the artwork to both foreign and local Danish collectors.
Works by Ragnhild May
As part of the expanded programme called Special Projects for this year’s art fair, there were spotlighted several presentations by artists in collaboration with the galleries at CHART 2025, fair’s partners or other organisations. These special presentations were exhibited in the foyer and stairways leading up to the fair at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, as well as inside the courtyard and at The Chapel at Charlottenborg. For Special Projects there were works from: Emily Gernild (DK); Diana Orving (SE); Cristina de Miguel (ES); Modou Dieng Yacine (SN); Kristín Morthens (IS); Edition Solenne (DK); Oliver Sundqvist (SE) and FOS (DK).
The focus of CHART always has been exclusively on contemporary art where the galleries presenting a selection of both: Nordic and international artists, established and emerging artists. This year painting was predominant, in all its diversity. A bit of photography was also represented, but the strong focus was on the artworks in mixed media, using clay, rope, fabric and many different artificial materials which was telling of the growing interest in the most common worldwide tendencies of the artistic media practices in Scandinavia.
Works by Zsófia Keresztes, 2024
Recently, the art market has been becoming stronger and stronger in the Nordic region countries. Copenhagen Art Week which is happening during the last week of August has become a very hectic event where bedside’s CHART also Enter Art Fair and many different art events around the city usually are alive. There is a strong presence of different Danish art fairs during the whole year in Denmark. Also, if we talk about the Nordic region then MARKET Art Fair happening annually in Stockholm has proved its solid place in the art market, too. Definitely, the Baltic region needs to be mentioned in context of the art market of the Northen Europe as Riga Contemporary is becoming an important player for the art market at this part of the world.
Julie Quottrup Sibermann, the director of CHART in an express interview said: “We are very inclusive, diverse, and innovative. I also see CHART as very international. A lot of the galleries participating at CHART are also taking part in art fairs all over the world. The art scene has become so international. As for collectors, we have a lot of younger collectors. There is a growing interest, people are saving money to buy unique art. The gallery scene in Copenhagen is vibrant. It is not trying to emulate New York or Paris – the Nordic art world is its own kind of ecosystem with its own identity.”
Peter Holst Henckel, Pipe Dream, 2025. Courtesy of the artist and SPECTA
CHART is inviting the galleries to participate at the art fair and mainly focusing on the galleries from Denmark and Sweden, however, there are few Norwegian galleries as well as Finnish and Icelandic galleries always present as regular participants at CHART. Julie Quottrup Sibermann during the chat admitted that it is always a hard choice when it comes to the decision of the invitations as the space of Charlottenborg allows only 36 galleries to participate at the fair, stressing out that in the core of CHART there is a fact that it is a Nordic fair, and it is for galleries that are connected to the Nordics, adding that if there were someone in Baltics with a Nordic connections then CHART would be open to look into their programme. Also, the director of CHART added that there is a deep interest in collaboration with the art institutions and curators from the Baltic region.
Jytte Rex, Styx, 2025
One of CHART’s key focuses is to expand the conversation around collecting art. The art fair wants to demystify how the process works and to make it easier for first-time collectors to form new relationships with the galleries participating at CHART. Start Collecting with CHART 2025 was a curated exhibition featuring works by established and emerging artists from across the Nordics. The exhibition took place in The Chapel at Charlottenborg, presented in collaboration with the galleries at the art fair. All of the works in the exhibition were priced at a maximum of 20.000 DKK / 2700 EUR. This initiative was about building transparency and presenting stand-out works within a specific price range to expand the dialogue around collecting art and encourage more people to start.
Rhoda Ting & Mikkel Bojesen, Landscape Portrait, 2023
At the same time, Julie Quottrup Sibermann acknowledged that the team has been working with collectors all year long. Strong partnerships with businesses in the United States and Switzerland, as well as ties within the Nordic region, have been maintained, and Danish collectors have been treated with great friendliness and cooperation. With a strong, amiable attitude, the communication with organisations such as Buffalo AKG Art Museum has been developed and maintained.
Works by Ragnhild May
For the Talks Programme CHART 2025 was partnering with Super Vox which was in charge to broadcast a series of live recordings plus a series of exclusive interviews on location at Charlottenborg. Talks gained deeper insight into practices of some of the region’s most renewed contemporary artists as well as showcased the panel discussions with experts across the field and looked into the topics – Collecting Through Generations, Private Patronage in Supporting Artistic Practice, Exploring the Future of Sustainable Exhibition-making, The Notion of Nordicness and its Potential, The Impact of Art in the Public Space, Start Collecting as a Company.
Jane Jim Kaiser, Sora, 2023
Also, the 2025 edition of CHART in Tivoli was opened, especially, as mentioned before, CHART has decided to shine a light on art in the public space. There still is an opportunity to attend a contemporary art exhibition inside Copenhagen’s iconic amusement park Tivoli Gardens till 21st September, 2025. This year’s CHART in Tivoli exhibition offers an inspiring and interactive art experience to all of Tivoli’s guests, both in the gardens and online. An audio guide, produced especially for the occasion will offer thoughts and perspectives on each artwork, in the artist’s own words.
The exhibition in Tivoli is developed in close collaboration with some of the most established artists working in the Nordic region today: Harry Anderson (SE); Jenny Brockmann (DE); Frederik Næblerød (DK); Bjørn Nørgaard (DK); Frederik Nystrup-Larsen (DK); Kirsten Ortwed (DK); Tal R (IL/DK) and Sif Itona Westerberg (DK).
Goldin + Senneby, Multiple Scars, 2023
The art fair’s ambition is to make art more accessible and engaging for a broader audience. That’s why this year CHART even expanded the format with a satellite exhibition in the Festsalen space at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. The eight artists exhibiting in Tivoli were each invited to present a work on a plinth, reflecting their practice and the work shown in the gardens.
Torbjørn Rødland, Sunday in November, 2019-2014
There is no doubt that CHART is a unique art fair with a distinct personality that makes it a powerful and autonomous brand on the art market map. CHART exudes a sense of globalisation while yet acknowledging local expertise and a personal touch towards art fair’s visitors and guests. Best wishes, dear CHART, and I hope to see you again next year!
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We would like to thank the Latvian Embassy in Denmark and Ambassador Inga Skujiņa for their generous support in the creation of this material.
Title image: Re-Route by Samuel Charles Barratt. Photo by Joakim Züger / BARSK Projects
