From Brooklyn to Basel: How The Bishop Gallery Is Redefining Global Art Fair Strategy

When The Bishop Gallery touched down in Basel for its debut at VOLTA Art Fair 2025, it was not merely a new pin on the map—it was a carefully calculated move within a larger rethinking of how independent galleries navigate the global art market.

Founded in Brooklyn and rooted in a deep commitment to artists and community, The Bishop Gallery’s first international art fair appearance was the result of layered strategic thinking: relationship-driven engagement, infrastructure-led decision-making, and a belief in artist-first programming. At the center of their booth stood the work of Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre, a Haitian-American artist and professor at Howard University, whose practice merges muralism, pedagogy, and diasporic visual language. Around him, however, stood an entire operational philosophy.

Beyond Visibility: A Relational Model for Art Fair Participation

“We didn’t choose Basel just because of its name,” explains Stevenson Dunn, co-founder of The Bishop Gallery.

“We chose VOLTA because of the relationship we built with its director, Lee Cavaliere.”

That distinction is important. In a world where art fairs increasingly operate as transactional engines—spaces where presence is purchased and visibility is monetized—the Bishop approach offers a stark alternative. For them, it’s not about accessing the biggest audience, or the most elite collector base, or even the trendiest curatorial moment. It’s about working with fair partners who are willing to invest in shared process, dialogue, and long-term alignment.

The initial connection was made through Rob Fields, a New York-based art advisor and board member of VOLTA New York, who introduced Dunn and Cavaliere. “Lee didn’t just say, ‘We’d love to have you.’ He actually followed up after the fair season was over. He asked about our program. He stayed in touch without us being on the official exhibitor list.

”That’s rare,” Dunn says. “That kind of post-fair follow-up—when there’s no transaction on the table—that’s when you see if someone really believes in what you’re building.”

This extended engagement built trust. But more importantly, it aligned with The Bishop Gallery’s ethos: that successful exhibitions are relational, not just logistical. “We’re not looking to just fill booths,” Dunn explains. “We’re building cultural conversations, and that means the platform has to be right—not just for us, but for the artist.”

The Artist First, Always: Matching Fair to Practice

The artist they brought to VOLTA, Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre, is more than an emerging name. As a tenured educator at Howard University and a cultural worker deeply embedded in Haitian-American storytelling, Jean-Pierre’s practice is expansive—one that requires careful contextual framing, not just wall space.

“Charles isn’t just a painter,” Dunn says. “He’s part of a lineage. His work speaks to education, legacy, Black excellence, and the global south. It needed a platform that could meet it with seriousness.”

What VOLTA offered—beyond its footprint—was curatorial openness and a willingness to collaborate. “We’ve learned to become very critical about which fairs we participate in,” Dunn explains. “A lot of galleries think about which fair fits the gallery. But we’re now asking: which fair fits this artist—Charles, Quiana Parks, Sophia Victor, Jules Be Kuti. That’s the question.”

The gallery has been shifting toward solo presentations over the last few years, favoring depth over breadth. Their most recent was a focused solo at Scope, and even there, the approach was carefully constructed. “It’s not just about showing up. It’s about placing the artist in the right context, with the right support, and having clear objectives around storytelling and engagement,” Dunn adds.

That kind of clarity requires pre-fair investment—and not just financial. “We don’t just apply, pay, and show up,” he continues. “We want fairs where we’re on multiple calls beforehand. Where we’re co-thinking, co-curating, and being honest about what works and what doesn’t.”

Infrastructure as Strategy: Why Basel Made Sense

The Bishop Gallery’s decision to launch its international presence in Basel was not just about VOLTA’s offer—it was about operational readiness. Their long-standing collaboration with a Basel-based space run by Rafael Roquio, gave them a logistical advantage few other locations could match. “We had boots on the ground,” Dunn says. “That matters. We hosted a dinner and cocktail event; we had team members who could help with last-minute shipping, framing, venue logistics. That’s what allows an international fair to succeed—not just a strong booth, but strong infrastructure.”

The gallery’s emphasis on infrastructure is part of a larger philosophy: sustainable international expansion must be grounded in logistical clarity and cultural familiarity. “We’re not interested in symbolic participation,” Dunn notes. “We’re not here to say ‘we’ve done Basel’—we’re here because we had the right team, the right partners, and the right artist for this specific moment.”

Curator and strategist Xavier Cunningham played a key role in shaping the booth. With experience navigating both the Swiss cultural sector and international contemporary art, Rernard Cunningham helped curate a presentation that would resonate with Basel’s audience while maintaining the artist’s voice. “He helped us select the works that would speak most directly to this audience without compromising the integrity of Charles’s practice,” Dunn explains. “He also understood the challenges—what might get lost in translation, where we’d need more context, what conversations were already happening locally.”

Expansion on the Gallery’s Terms

With VOLTA as a successful test case, The Bishop Gallery is now exploring further international expansion—but with the same deliberate, criteria-driven approach. “We’re looking at 1-54 in Marrakech,” Dunn confirms.

“We’re very interested in Lagos. But we’re not going to just show up without clarity. We want to know: who’s the lead on the ground? Who’s managing logistics? Who’s creating the right environment for success?”

Dunn’s questions reflect the broader reality that many emerging galleries face but don’t often articulate publicly. International art fair participation is expensive, resource-intensive, and filled with reputational risk. “Nobody wants to say, ‘We spent all that money and didn’t sell anything,’” Dunn says. “So we don’t take these decisions lightly. We need clear goals, real partners, and a plan.”

It’s a practical—and honest—perspective that sets The Bishop Gallery apart. While many independent galleries chase global presence through sheer volume, Bishop’s method is refined: fewer fairs, deeper engagements, strategic alignment. “We’d rather do three fairs well than five fairs halfway,” Dunn says. “And by ‘well,’ I mean every layer—from curation to collector engagement to post-fair dialogue.”

Collaboration Over Transaction

The underlying principle behind The Bishop Gallery’s growth model is one of collaboration, not consumption. Dunn draws a line between transactional fairs and those that operate more like cultural co-creators. “With some fairs, once you’re in, you’re just a booth number,” he says. “But at PRIZM, Scope, and now VOLTA, we’ve had multiple calls, shared documents, actual conversations. Sometimes we disagree. But that’s the point. We grow through that kind of friction.”

In that model, the gallery is not simply showcasing art. It’s co-producing cultural meaning. “We want to work with fairs that are invested in artists—not just aesthetics. That’s why Charles was the right artist for this context. And that’s why we’ll keep choosing fairs that treat us not as clients, but as partners.”

A Blueprint for the Next Generation

What The Bishop Gallery is building is not just a business—it’s a blueprint. In an era where art fairs dominate visibility but often ignore sustainability, Bishop offers an alternative: measured, mission-driven, and relationally intelligent. Their approach underscores what many in the industry know but rarely operationalize: that small can still be strategic, that international doesn’t have to mean extractive, and that presence without purpose is a liability, not an asset.

As the gallery looks toward future collaborations—across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe—their message is clear: don’t call us unless you’re ready to build with us. “We’re not looking for invitations,” Dunn says. “We’re looking for alignment.”

Key Takeaways

• Global presence must be built on local infrastructure: The Bishop Gallery’s successful Basel debut hinged on existing relationships, operational support, and cultural insight.

• Fairs should match the artist, not just the gallery: Artist-first curation requires selecting platforms based on the story, audience, and resonance of the work.

• Relationship capital is a strategic asset: Fair directors and curators who invest in long-term engagement create more value than one-off visibility.

• Emerging markets demand embedded partnerships: Expansion into places like Lagos or Marrakech requires not only funding but trusted, on-the-ground allies.

• Sustainable scaling prioritizes alignment over exposure: Small galleries can grow internationally without overextending if they maintain clarity of mission and method.