Paris Internationale lands in Milan

The fair Paris Internationale lands in Milan. In April 2026, to coincide with Miart, the French fair will launch a Milanese edition of the event. The organisers are still defining the location, on which the number of participants will also depend, but it will be a space that ties in with Milan's architectural history, in the city centre, in the spirit of the fair in Paris, which over time has occupied several disused Hôtel particulier. The Lombard capital has been chosen for the liveliness of its art scene today, experimental but also rooted in a tradition of artistic creation and collecting.

They are yet another player in the contemporary art world that the city has managed to attract in recent months, first and foremost Thaddaeus Ropac, also from Paris. Two variables that have influenced the city's fortunes are the flat tax, with the arrival of more than 4,000 foreign millionaire taxpayers, and the reduction of VAT on art exchanges from 22% to 5% (less than France's 5.5%).

The expansion comes just a few days before the fair opens in Paris, to coincide with the week of Art Basel Paris. This edition celebrates the tenth anniversary of the event, founded by the Paris galleries Crèvecoeur and Ciaccia Levi and Gregor Staiger of Zurich - the latter two also based in Milan in Via Rossini - and directed by Silvia Ammon. There will be an Italian team in Milan that will collaborate with the Paris team. The operational part will be entrusted to ArtsFor by Camilla Invernizzi and Paolo Antonini.

In recent years, the emerging galleries taking part in Miart had sometimes expressed dissatisfaction. "As an institutional fair, Miart lacks nothing," commented Nerina Ciaccia of the Ciaccia Levi Gallery, "what is perhaps lacking in Milan is an alternative proposal, which is a fair, but also a cultural event. Paris Internationale has also structured itself over the years as a cultural event, with a talk programme and a community. There is a recognisable spirit that an institutional fair like Miart perhaps has less of.

"This upcoming Milan edition will be an opportunity to strengthen exchanges between artists, galleries and institutions across Europe, in line with the values of independence, collaboration and discovery that have guided the fair since its inception," reads the press release from the Parisian fair. "Hosting Paris Internationale during Milan Art Week 2026 means continuing a European dialogue between cities and artistic communities that share the values of openness, research and independence," commentedTommaso Sacchi, Councillor for Culture of the City of Milan. "It is also an acknowledgement of the work done to make our city a reference point for contemporary art - a place where international energies meet and grow together. Milan boasts a long tradition in contemporary art, which has been further strengthened in recent years thanks to an increasingly dynamic and interconnected cultural ecosystem. Today, the city can count on a solid network