What:
Startup Art Fair LA is an artist-led art fair that places creators—not galleries or institutions—at the center of both exhibition and sales. Artists present work directly to collectors while participating in panels and workshops on the realities of building a creative career.
Hosted at The Kinney Venice Beach, where hotel rooms transform into exhibition spaces, Startup Art Fair Los Angeles reimagines what an art fair can be by placing artists at the center of both the conversation and the exchange. Once a radical alternative to the traditional fair model, Startup has evolved into a vivid reflection of a changing creative economy—one where artists operate as entrepreneurs, storytellers, and cultural producers, engaging collectors directly while confronting the realities of building a sustainable creative life.
“The art world has long romanticized struggle while obscuring the practical realities of making a living as an artist,” says Ray Beldner, founder of Startup Art Fair. “We created this platform to demystify that process and to give artists agency, visibility, and real tools so they can thrive on their own terms.”
The 2026 Los Angeles edition brings together a dynamic group of independent artists working across painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media, connected less by aesthetic than by a shared spirit of experimentation and self-direction. Among the standout voices is Delbar Azari, whose work draws from the visual language of 1960s–70s West Coast modernism, echoing California’s legacy of bold color and sensual abstraction while asserting a distinctly contemporary presence.
Beyond the exhibition rooms, Startup Art Fair LA distinguishes itself through programming that favors openness over polish. Panels and workshops explore timely questions around AI, authorship, identity, and professional sustainability, offering space for candid, unscripted dialogue. In a city built on reinvention, the fair offers more than a
marketplace—it becomes a forum for ideas, connection, and a more human vision of the future of art.
When:
February 27–March 1, 2026.
Where:
The Kinney Venice Beach hotel
737 Washington Blvd, Venice, CA 90292
About Startup Art Fair
Founded in 2015, Startup Art Fair is a pioneering independent art fair that supports unrepresented and self-represented artists through direct-to-collector exposure. The fair has been hosted in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago, earning national recognition for its boutique scale, high quality, and community-driven ethos. Learn more at https://www.startup-art.com/san-francisco
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Kinney Venice Beach, 737 Washington Blvd, Venice, CA 90292, United States, Marina Del Rey
