The organizers of the Untitled contemporary art fair have announced plans to expand to Houston, starting in September 2025. The fair will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in the city’s Downtown area.

The expansion is notable at a time of continued caution and cost-cutting across many sectors of the art market.

Untitled was founded 12 years ago in Miami, by collector and entrepreneur Jeffrey Lawson, and runs every December during Art Basel Miami Beach. It is slated this year for December 4–8. The first edition in Texas will take place from September 19 to September 21, with a preview day on September 18.

“Texas—and Houston specifically, with its vast resources, great cultural wealth, and standing as a gateway to Latin America—offers a myriad of opportunities to a growing brand like Untitled Art,” Lawson said in a statement. “Since its inception, we have worked diligently to create a premium platform that is engaging, experimental and welcoming to all, a combination we think will resonate well in this market.”

The news comes on the heels of Houston being honored as the first “Spotlight” city at the Art Dealers Association of America’d recent Art Show in New York.

Los Angeles-based writer and curator Michael Slenske will serve as the director of the Texas edition. “Over the past decade and a half, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Houston’s art landscape evolve firsthand, and there’s seemingly no limit to the potential of the city’s cultural infrastructure,” Slenske said in a statement.

Slenske added that Houston is “a rich tapestry of contemporary and historic positions aided by recent milestone additions to the Menil Collection and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston as well as the key expansion plans for the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), the Orange Show for Visionary Art, LMAAHH’s Latino cultural complex and the Ismaili Center on the horizon.”

Exhibitors are expected to come from across the U.S. and the world. Initially confirmed participants include Jessica Silverman Gallery, Various Small Fires, Half Gallery, and Luis De Jesus. Further, 12.26 of Dallas, Seven Sisters of Houston, and Martha’s of Austin are among the galleries taking part in a sector at the fair for emerging outfits called “Nest.” A full list of exhibitors will be announced spring 2025.