Thank you to everyone who participated in 2026! We can’t wait to be back next year!
Startup Art Fair Los Angeles 2026
February 27 - March 1 - 2026, Venice Beach, CA
Where careers ignite, art gets personal, and hotel rooms go wild.
For three days only, over 80 independent artists take over The Kinney Venice Beach hotel, turning every room into a one-of-a-kind contemporary art experience you won’t find anywhere else.
Come hang with the artists, discover bold new work, and buy directly from the source in a totally unpretentious, come-as-you-are atmosphere. No velvet ropes, just real conversations and great art.
We’re steps from the Venice Beach Boardwalk and a short stroll to Abbot Kinney’s shopping scene, smack in the middle of LA’s wildest art weekend alongside Frieze, LA Art Show, and Felix. You won’t want to miss this.
-
Event Location:
Startup LA takes place at the vibrant The Kinney Venice Beach, 737 Washington Blvd, Venice, CA 90292
Event Dates & Hours:Friday, February 27:
VIP Early access: 5-7pm
All Access: 7-10pm
Saturday, February 28: 12 noon - 9pm
Sunday, March 1: 12 noon - 7pm
-
Special Curated VIP Tours
Join us for exclusive, curator-led tours designed for VIP guests seeking a deeper, more personal experience of the exhibition. These intimate walkthroughs offer behind-the-scenes insight into the artwork, creative process, and curatorial vision, with time for conversation and questions along the way.
Friday, February 27 at 6:00 PM
Saturday, February 28 at 3:00 PMVIP tickets are available here. To reserve your spot or request additional information, please contact ray@startup-art.com.
-
9AM.art
Ada Pullini Brown
AdeolaDavies-Aiyeloja
Ali Hall
Ali Scher
Allied Special Projects
Alt Projects
Amy Oates
Amy Thornberry
Andrew K. Thompson
Angela Warren
Anjale Perrault
Annie Clavel
Annie Galvin and Eric Rewitzer
Annie Seaton
Annie Wood
Art Vancouver / Lisa Wolfin and Taisha Teal
Barbara Boissevain
Barbara Danzi
Beth Abaravich
Catherine Ruane
Charlotta Hauksdottir
Christina Shurts
Clare Schmehl
Costina Stan
Dan Lythcott-Haims
David Kurtz
Emily Araújo
Fernando Carnauba
Fernando Reyes
Hannah Moore
Heather Allison
Inga Frick
Ivaylo Angelov
Jakupsil Collective
Jane Runyeon
Jerrin Wagstaff
Jill Sykes
Julie Lipa
Karii Rurup-Coleman
Katherine Filice
Kevin Perrault
Kina Lee
Kipaipai Fellows
Kristine Schomaker- Perceive Me
Lori Markman
Mark Wagner
Mary Zeran
Melanie McFarland
Melissa Johnson
Michelle Victoria
Paul Merryman
Petra Barth
Rachel Sager
Ray Beldner
Reginald Tucker
Ruby Dora
Seth Dembar
Shannon Abbey
Shannon Milar
Shoebox: Call and Response
Stephanie Metz
Stephanie Vaughan -
Saturday, February 28, 2pm: Embrace the Evolution: What AI means for artists today
Crista Cloutier and Jason Sikes
Is AI destroying beauty or redefining it? Is it disrupting creativity or expanding it? Is it erasing artists or empowering them? Is it the chaos or the catalyst?
Yes.
AI is the paradox — and the evolution — that every artist is already living.
•••
Saturday, February 28th, 4pm:
Beyond The Canvas And Into The Flesh: Expanding Fine Artists' Breadth of Work Into The Realm of TattooingJustine Almaraz and Alex Husmann
Why fine artists can benefit from learning the art of tattooing but not from traditional apprenticeship models, and what preparation and education can look like now.What tattoo apprenticeships historically provided, and what they didn’t
The one medium most fine artists will never try and why
The possibilities of how tattooing can transform your work into a legacy
What responsibility do artists hold when crossing the threshold into tattooing
•••
Saturday, February 28th, 6pm:
Soft Power, Hard Value: Textile in the Contemporary Market
Over the past two decades, textile has moved from the margins of contemporary art to renewed institutional and market attention. Once dismissed as craft, fiber-based practices are now widely exhibited and collected, prompting a reassessment of value, labor, and gendered histories within the medium.
Featuring Beth Abaravich, Barbara Danzi, Melanie McFarland, and Ali Scher, this panel considers how contemporary artists merge sculpture, installation, and narrative through textile, and what it means for materially intensive practices to circulate within today’s commercial art world.
Moderated by art journalist and professor Anni Irish.
•••
Sunday, March 1st, 2pm: Perceive Me—Body Image, Self-Worth, and the Radical Act of Being Seen
Kristine Schomaker, Nancy Kay Turner, Jason Jenn, Liberty Worth, Katherine Pitt and a surprise guest!
How does being truly seen—without judgment, with skill and care—change our relationship to our bodies? What happens when we challenge the beauty industrial complex through direct action rather than just critique? Why is visibility itself a radical act for marginalized bodies?
We'll explore the gap between how we feel inside (glamorous, powerful, beautiful) and what we see in the mirror (fat, flawed, unacceptable). The role of skilled witnessing in creating healing experiences. How collaborative art-making can challenge societal beauty standards more effectively than individual protest. Why body-shaming remains big business and how art can disrupt that economy.
•••
Sunday, March 1st, 4pm: Between Stillness & Motion
This screening event brings together a curated selection of short and mid-length films that explore the inner lives of artists, the fragility of human connection, and the quiet forces that shape transformation. Spanning documentary, narrative, and experimental forms, the program reflects on moments where creativity intersects with vulnerability—where grief, risk, memory, and perception become catalysts for change.
Curated by filmmaker Antony Berrios, the program brings together work by directors whose films have circulated widely across major international festivals. From sonic experimentation and urban abstraction to intimate portraits of loss and radical reinvention, each film invites the viewer to slow down, observe, and sit with experience rather than explain it. The screenings will be followed by conversations with attending filmmakers, offering audiences insight into process, intention, and the evolving relationship between art and lived experience.
Screening times:Criss-Crossing Chrysalis
Gabriela Tollman
Running time: 2:19
Lovely
Gabriela Tollman
Running time: 11:14
Sonic Dreams
Dir: Antony Berrios
Running time: 46:00
Folding City
Tyler Hubby
Running time: 23:00
Risking it All to Go Deeper
Matthew Skala
Running time: 17:22
IntermissionPost Screening Moderated Conversation with the filmmakers and audience Q&A.
-
Garden Party
Walk by and discover the Garden Party in the far courtyard created by the artists from Allied Special Projects x The Black Piglet.
This installation consists of colorful paper pulp sculptures by Amy Smith, abstract artworks on canvas & wood by Yoon Chang and a fair activation that gives you a tote by Liquidtex x Mary Lai.
Come see it for yourself to experience this secret flower garden full of color, textiles and art. The Garden Party continues nearby in their Room 220.
-
Spiñorita
Friday, February 27 | 7:00–10:00 PMSpiñorita is a genre-bending DJ whose sound is rooted in the pulse of ’90s Los Angeles and the communities that raised her. Coming up through backyard parties, desert raves, and underground clubs, she developed a style shaped by spaces where music and movement collide. Her sets move like a memory and hit like a system test—blending Funk, Freestyle, Drum & Bass, Guaracha, House, Jersey Club, Acid, and more into something both nostalgic and forward-driving. Expect high-energy selections, deep grooves, and a dance floor experience that feels equal parts throwback and future-facing.
-
Our friends at the Kinney are offering a special rate for Startup guests at their sister property, The Inn at Venice Beach, just a short walk away from the fair.
-
Check back for updated room map.
Visiting Startup Art Fair LA:
Startup Art Fair Los Angeles 2026 Jury
-
Liz Garvey
Co-Founder/Director, Garvey|Simon, NYC
-
Bridgette Mayer
Owner/Director Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia
-
Max Presneill
Director/Chief Curator, Torrance Art Museum, CA
What artists & collectors have to say:
-
"It was my goal to explore a new market and to gauge interest in the LA area, where there is so much great art already and lots of competition. I had a great time talking to people and building new connections, my mailing list grew quite a bit and I'm glad I got to be at this Rockstar Hotel, with some amazing artists!"
Katja Leibenath
-
"This was an incredible experience as an artist...making sales is wonderful and the success goes far beyond that. I was able connect with so many people about my work and art making in general. Being a part of this unique community for the weekend was a rare and invaluable opportunity."
Ellie Fritz
-
"I can't tell you how amazing all of the feedback and comments have been both during and after the exhibition...overall, I found the experience quite rewarding."
Shannon Schmidt
-
“My primary objective in signing up for the fair was to build an awareness of my work and make connections in Los Angeles. To that end, the fair has been a resounding success. Through the fair, I connected with a local curator and we had a studio visit this week. He offered to help me screen galleries and make introductions. I also started a correspondence with a writer from Artillery Magazine. None of this would have been possible without Startup Art Fair.”
Alison Woods
Please Thank Our Nonprofit Partners & Supporters
Please Thank Our Nonprofit Partners & Supporters
