Broader Vision, Sharper Focus: Kyla McMillan On The Armory Show’s Next Chapter

“As a former gallerist, I find it essential to stay in close dialogue with the people running galleries,” McMillan says. “They’re the ones with their finger on the pulse of the market, of what artists need and expect from their galleries and of what collectors are looking for. You really can’t build a successful fair without that kind of engagement.”

The Armory Show, as McMillan acknowledges, has long been defined by its balance between blue-chip galleries and curated sections that spotlight emerging voices and global perspectives—an approach that sets it apart from glitzier fairs like Art Basel Miami Beach or Frieze New York, creating space for discovery and a wider range of collecting opportunities.

“There’s a strong legacy of discovery here, and that’s something I feel a deep responsibility to uphold,” she adds. “As I mentioned, it’s often the first fair where collectors buy, where curators connect or where artists receive a major platform. That sense of ‘firstness’ is embedded in the fair’s DNA—whether you’re a seasoned collector or entirely new to the art world, there’s always the expectation that you’ll encounter something new, or see something familiar in a new way.”

This year, that spirit of discovery will be especially visible in the fair’s Presents section, which will feature the largest number of emerging galleries in the fair’s history. Open to galleries less than ten years old, the section highlights recent work in solo and dual-artist presentations—cementing McMillan’s curatorial push to broaden access and opportunity across the board.

Among the highlights, Mexico City- and New York-based gallery JO-HS will present a bold solo booth of British artist Jo Dennis, whose seductive abstractions stretch into space like passionate bodies and emotions in motion, transferring gesture, color and feeling across military tents and canvases in visceral installations. Also working at the intersection of painting and sculpture, Marinaro Gallery will show a new body of work by Ever Baldwin—eerie, enigmatic compositions housed in handmade wooden frames that explore the tension between materiality and transcendence. Meanwhile, Swivel Gallery will debut visionary ceramics by Mexican artist Alejandro Garcia Contreras, who alchemically transforms clay and glaze with earth and fire, constructing an idiosyncratic cosmology of symbols and myths tied to the origins of the universe.

The expansion of emerging gallery presentations is part of a broader effort to make the fair more accessible to new buyers—a real opportunity in a city like New York, where a large population of young professionals and entrepreneurs have the means and interest in collecting but don’t know where to begin. As McMillan noted earlier, she sees art fairs as powerful entry points for future collectors. “This year, we’ll have over fifty galleries from around the world in the Presents section, and it’s something we’re incredibly proud of,” she says. “Just as artists and galleries evolve through a pipeline, so do collectors. We actively engage with younger collectors; it’s a real priority for us. New York is a city where someone with transactional potential can walk through the door and, while relatively unknown today, be on every top collector list in just a few years. That openness to discovery is something we want to foster.”

Tapping into New York’s status as the wealthiest city in the world—where much of that wealth has yet to be activated in the art market—McMillan has also introduced a new design-focused section titled Function, which explores the intersection of art and design. “We’re at a key moment in the calendar; it’s not just the start of the global art season, it’s the kickoff of New York’s cultural calendar,” she explains. “The more entry points we can offer for different types of audiences, the better. That’s a core priority for us: to make the fair accessible, engaging and relevant to a broader public, not just seasoned collectors but also those who are just starting their journey.”

McMillan remains acutely aware of The Armory Show’s role in presenting, spotlighting and helping define the current state of art in North America. She was intentional about bringing in galleries from outside the traditional art capitals of New York, L.A. and Chicago. “We wanted to look at what’s happening in places like Houston, Dallas, Seattle and Portland—cities with vibrant, essential art communities,” she explains. “One of the privileges of this role is having that bird’s-eye view, especially of what’s happening across North America. That ongoing dialogue about what feels vital to include—what offers a true glimpse of America today—is really at the heart of the job.”

Reflecting that ethos, this year’s Focus section—curated by Jessica Bell Brown, executive director of the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University—will highlight artists from the American South. The aim is to spotlight a region that is often overlooked yet undeniably vital to the national art landscape—and home to some of the country’s most celebrated artists—while exploring its role as a nexus for the many populations that have shaped American art and identity. “We wanted to think about the American South not just in terms of artists who live and work there, but as a necessary locus for so many diasporas,” McMillan says. “Miami, for example, is a gateway for Latin American and Caribbean communities. Cities like New Orleans and Houston have dynamic Chinese and Vietnamese populations that deeply enrich the cultural fabric. We’re a melting pot, and that diversity is essential.”

In this section, L.A.-based gallery The Pit will present a new series of vibrantly colored ceramics by Miami artist Joel Gaitan, who reactivates sacred Nicaraguan traditions through clay. Highlighting Nicaraguan aesthetics, poetry and storytelling, each work is conceived as an offering to the ancestors—those encountered and those unknown. Meanwhile, Atlanta-based Wolfgang Gallery will present Narcissus Pagoda, an ambitious large-scale installation by Aineki Traverso, along with new paintings and works on paper that merge human figures, botanical motifs and dreamlike landscapes into layered, atmospheric compositions.

McMillan saw this year’s fair as an opportunity for return—a kind of homecoming tied to what she describes as a “reverse migration.” Not long ago, she notes, it felt like artists, gallerists and curators had to be in New York to “make it.” Now, she’s seeing more people who studied or launched their careers in the city choose to return home or relocate elsewhere—and in doing so, build thriving, meaningful communities rooted in place.

Several New York galleries are also returning to The Armory Show this year, or exhibiting for the first time after focusing on building their reputations internationally. Others—international galleries with New York outposts—are participating with an eye toward strengthening their local presence. “For me, it’s about being reflective,” McMillan says. “The fair has to reflect the time we’re in.”

Among the highlights in the Galleries section: White Cube will present a solo show by visionary duo TARWUK, featuring a new body of mysterious, suspended works shaped by the artists’ shared experiences growing up in the post-Yugoslav era. Victoria Miro will debut a solo presentation of new paintings by in-demand artist Doron Langberg, while Saatchi Yates will spotlight new works by Tesfaye Urgessa—marking the New York debut of the Ethiopian painter who represented his country in its first-ever national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Vielmetter Los Angeles will show new works by Edgar Arceneaux, whose experimental compositions on mirrored surfaces amplify his vibrant, fluid explorations of color.

From Brussels, Sorry We’re Closed will introduce the ceramic mastery of 83-year-old Jun Kaneko, the Japanese-born, Omaha-based artist known for his monumental forms. Havana’s El Apartamento will present symbolically and politically charged works by Roberto Diago, addressing the condition of Afro-descendants in Cuba through themes of race, colonialism, memory and identity. In a thematic collaboration, ProxyCo and Instituto de Visión will explore migration and displacement through works by Diana Sofía Lozano, Otto Berchem, Adela Golbard and Ana Mercedes Hoyos.

A key section reinforcing this vision is Platform, which returns this year with a new curatorial direction and renewed institutional ambition. Dedicated to large-scale sculpture, installations and site-specific works at the center of the fair, the section is anchored for the first time by the non-profit foundation Souls Grown Deep. All of the works included will respond to the curatorial framework “My Art Is the Evidence of My Freedom,” conceived by the foundation’s chief curator Raina Lampkins-Fielder as a tribute to Black artists whose practices were shaped by life in the American South.

Highlights include Thornton Dial’s monumental paintings and assemblages, rich with Southern vernacular influences, alongside works by seminal Alabama artists Lonnie Holley, Joe Minter and his son Richard Dial. Among the younger voices gaining recognition, Allison Janae Hamilton will present a major installation of bronze sculptures titled Love is like the sea…, shown by Mariane Boesky Gallery. Swivel Gallery, in collaboration with PATRON, will present a monumental sand barrel installation by Jamaican artist Simon Benjamin. Expanding on his research into maritime and island geographies, Benjamin repositions the Caribbean not as a passive paradise but as a layered, lived archive of colonial legacy, extraction, exchange and trauma. His work treats sediment and shoreline as vessels of memory—inflected by the past, engaged in the present and gesturing toward imagined futures.

Institutional engagement remains a top priority for McMillan—particularly in sections like Platform but across the fair as a whole. This year’s Curatorial Leadership Summit has been restructured to deepen that engagement, with the aim of creating more meaningful connections between curators, museum directors and exhibiting galleries.

The 2025 Summit is chaired by Eric Crosby, director and chief curator at the Carnegie Museum of Art. “From our earliest conversations, we focused on how to create something with tangible outcomes—something actionable,” McMillan says. The team centered their approach around three key questions: How can the fair support more meaningful dialogue between curators and galleries? How can it equip curators to better navigate gallery relationships and institutional needs? And how can it help galleries present their work in ways that resonate with curators and institutional agendas?

“That line of thinking has really shaped our focus,” McMillan says. “It’s less about chasing the most topical headline—and more about positioning the fair as a foundation for long-term dialogue and community building.”

Still, McMillan acknowledges that most of the institutional presence will be North American. Last year, 61 percent of Armory Show visitors were based in New York, with most of the remainder coming from across the U.S., according to figures she shared. “While we do have vital galleries and collectors traveling in from around the world, international exhibitors tend to come to The Armory Show for a specific reason—it offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with American institutions and collectors, a group they don’t always have access to elsewhere.”

For that reason, McMillan isn’t particularly concerned about the overlap with Frieze Seoul again this year. While she acknowledges that the scheduling conflict stems largely from venue availability—and hopes it will be resolved in future editions—she sees the two fairs as offering fundamentally different experiences. “Frieze has actually been quite transparent about the overlap,” she says. “And for galleries participating in both Frieze Seoul and The Armory Show, there’s a real sense that each fair brings something distinct and equally valuable to the table.”

Since The Armory Show joined the Frieze network, it has also benefited from access to the group’s global infrastructure—particularly in terms of VIP outreach. McMillan tells Observer that she and her team spent much of the year touring collections across the country, building relationships with collectors and institutional leaders in their own contexts. “It was a meaningful part of our work with the larger Frieze VIP team and with our network of incredible regional consultants, who help us understand what matters most in different parts of the world,” she explains. “It’s been a very positive addition to The Armory Show’s programming and overall strategy.”

Most importantly, McMillan says, joining the Frieze group has helped the fair better define its identity. “The connection to Frieze has really helped us embrace our North American context in a way that feels both authentic and intentional.”

As for long-term strategy, McMillan acknowledges there’s no single priority for a historic art fair operating in the world’s largest art capital and market. “The Armory Show has such incredible breadth and scope that we can’t afford to focus on just one thing,” she says. “It actually requires working on all of those things—curatorial strength, institutional engagement, collector development—to keep it as vital as it is. It’s what makes us unique: we matter not just to New York but also to the entire North American region.”