Art Basel announced its fifth edition in Doha, signaling a calculated expansion into the Middle East, just ahead of the final crucible of a busy spring season: the annual pilgrimage to Europe for the fair’s most storied and serious flagship in Basel, Switzerland. What awaits is the final, demanding test of stamina and market mood, played out in a week of champagne, strategic pleasantries and the quiet pressure to act as though the stakes are still as high as they once were—especially at the top end of the market, where Basel has long been expected to deliver. Ahead of the 2025 edition of Art Basel, we spoke with fair director Maike Cruse about how she’s reshaped the Swiss institution in her second year at the helm (following a formidable run building Berlin Art Week) and what we can expect to see in Basel this year.

But first, some background. Launched in Basel in 1970 by local gallerists Ernst Beyeler, Trudl Bruckner and Balz Hilt, Art Basel’s roots run deep in the Swiss city. That first summer, the fair welcomed ninety galleries from ten countries and drew over 16,000 visitors—a scale that contrasts sharply with the 289 galleries from forty-two countries on this year’s roster. “Art Basel in Basel is our flagship show—the heart of where it all began and where we’ve called home for over 50 years,” Cruse tells Observer.

Today, each of Art Basel’s five editions is shaped by its host city, creating a distinct identity that reflects the character of participating galleries, institutions and audiences. In Basel, half the exhibitors are European, making it one of the most important events for the continental market, and dealers tend to bring their strongest material. “What truly sets Art Basel apart is the exceptional quality of work on view,” she says. “Nowhere else in a fair setting can you find this caliber of modern art assembled in one place, as well as an exhibition format like ‘Unlimited.’ The fair feels like a temporary museum.”

Even so, Art Basel in Basel is a moment on the calendar where ambition meets opportunity—a place where serious collectors and institutions come not just to view art but also to engage deeply with the people and ideas behind it. “Basel plays a pivotal role in anchoring the European market,” Cruse says without hesitation.

While some have suggested that Art Basel Paris is quietly eclipsing Basel in prominence, propelled by the French capital’s broader cultural offerings and magnetic pull on international collectors, Cruse remains unfazed. “Basel has a long-standing legacy not just as the birthplace of Art Basel but also as a city deeply woven into the fabric of the art world, with an exceptional density of institutions, foundations and historical collections,” she says. “That foundation continues to shape the fair’s depth and character today.”

While Paris brings undeniable momentum, drawing strength from the vitality of the French market and its global cultural cachet, Cruse views the two fairs as complementary: distinct in audience, curatorial rhythm and regional influence. In Basel, she says, you see broader European participation, with galleries from Central and Eastern Europe, the Nordics and even further afield.—“voices that aren’t always visible elsewhere.” And it’s not a matter of one city overtaking the other. “Basel operates in tandem with our other shows, not in competition. They are complementary platforms, each with their own energy, cadence and collecting communities.” The strength of the Art Basel brand, she explains, lies in its ability to respond to and amplify the cultural dynamics of each host city, extending its reach across distinct markets. “Basel and Paris are evolving in parallel, each contributing something vital to the wider conversation we’re shaping across the global art ecosystem.”

More than 50 years in, the fair and the city have become entwined. “The scale of Basel lends a unique intimacy—every corner of the city feels touched by the fair,” Cruse says. “In June, it’s impossible to be here and not feel Art Basel’s presence—whether you’re walking across the Messeplatz or stumbling on a “Parcours” installation in the middle of town.”

“Parcours” is one of the fair’s public-facing sectors—one that pushes the exhibition experience beyond Messehalle and into the city itself. When Stefanie Hessler took over “Parcours” last year, she reimagined the section by placing works in storefronts and civic spaces, creating opportunities for visitors and locals to engage with art through a grounded, place-based lens. This year’s theme, “Second Nature,” brings together twenty-one site-specific projects that probe the increasingly fluid boundaries between life and lifelikeness. St. Clara Church, the Manor department store, the Merian Hotel and even the underpass beneath it will host works, with contributions from Sturtevant, Thomas Bayrle, Selma Selman and Shahryar Nashat. “It’s about reshaping how we inhabit space—and how art can shift the way we move through the city,” Cruse adds. Meanwhile, the central installation at Messeplatz has been entrusted to German artist Katharina Grosse. “She’ll be transforming the plaza in a way that’s sure to be both monumental and unforgettable.”

The city of Basel is a cultural destination with an extraordinarily rich museum scene for a city of its size—something that has long cemented its status as a cultural powerhouse. From the Kunstmuseum Basel, home to the world’s oldest public art collection, to private foundations like the Fondation Beyeler and contemporary spaces such as Kunsthalle Basel and Schaulager, the city offers a cultural infrastructure few places can rival.

This year, the city’s institutions have saved their strongest programming for June to coincide with the fair, unveiling major exhibitions that range from Vija Celmins and Jordan Wolfson at Fondation Beyeler to a focused presentation on Medardo Rosso at Kunstmuseum Basel, alongside solo shows of work by Dala Nasser, Ser Serpas and Marie Matusz at Kunsthalle Basel. Meanwhile, Kunsthaus Baselland—which relocated last year to a new, expansive building on the Dreispitz site—will stage the evocatively titled group show “Whispers from Tides and Forests,” featuring works by Caroline Bachmann, Johanna Calle, Lena Laguna Diel, Abi Palmer, Nohemí Pérez, Ana Silva, Julia Steiner, Surma, Liu Yujia and others.

The Schaulager is spotlighting a new site-specific work by Steve McQueen, while Museum Tinguely will present two solo exhibitions dedicated to Suzanne Lacy and Julian Charrière, alongside its unique permanent collection of Tinguely’s singular, absurdist kinetic machines.

While Design Miami has canceled its Basel edition this year to focus on Paris in October, design lovers can still find much to explore. The Vitra Design Museum will host “The Shakers: A World in the Making,” an exhibition dedicated to the religious group that redefined American design and architecture in the 18th Century through beliefs rooted in community, labor and social equality that manifested in a minimalist, ascetic aesthetic and objects built to endure, with exquisite attention to detail. Nearby, the Vitra Schaudepot continues its run of “Science Fiction Design: From Space Age to Metaverse,” staging a provocative dialogue between speculative futures and the design innovations that accompany them.

Another museum-caliber highlight of the Basel edition of Art Basel is “Unlimited”—the section dedicated to the kind of large-scale, genre-defying work that simply doesn’t fit within the confines of a standard fair booth. “‘Unlimited’ is unique in both form and spirit—a concept deeply rooted in the identity of Art Basel in Basel,” Cruse says. “It’s our most expansive platform for ambitious works that transcend traditional formats.”

Curated this year by Giovanni Carmine, director of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, the 2025 edition features sixty-seven presentations, making it the largest of its kind across all Art Basel fairs. Housed in a cavernous 16,000-square-meter hall, “Unlimited” is designed to accommodate both scale and curatorial freedom. “The space doesn’t just allow for size—it unlocks a different way of experiencing the work, on its own terms,” explains Cruse. “This openness makes ‘Unlimited’ a vital part of the Art Basel experience. It’s where artists and galleries can push beyond constraints, and visitors are invited to slow down, explore and engage more deeply.”

Carmine and the selection committee have assembled a presentation Cruse describes as “both resonant and far-reaching,” spanning works that speak to the current moment and those that reframe or revive overlooked art histories. On view this year will be museum-level pieces by artists including Yayoi Kusama, Martin Kippenberger, Mario Merz, Heinz Mack, Mira Schor, Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Lee Ufan. Among the standouts, Cruse points to Alia Farid’s large woven tapestries, presented by Sfeir-Semler, which trace Arab and South Asian migration to Latin America and the Caribbean. “They feel especially urgent,” she says. Claudia Comte’s Temporal Drift (coral, leaf, cactus) (2025), presented by OMR, invites visitors into a rhythmic, ocean-inspired installation blending natural forms and architectural presence. Meanwhile, Mazzoleni will show We Rise by Lifting Others (2023), Marinella Senatore’s 34-meter-long light installation first unveiled at the NOOR Festival in Riyadh. Pace Gallery will stage three major presentations by Arlene Shechet, Latifa Echakhch and Robert Longo.

Photography also sees a strong showing in this year’s “Unlimited,” with standout presentations of Diane Arbus (David Zwirner), Lewis Baltz (Galerie Thomas Zander) and Qin Yifeng (Magician Space). “Each of these presentations offers a distinct lens through which to consider the medium’s possibilities,” Cruse says. But among the 2025 additions, Cruse is most excited about the debut of “Premiere”—a new sector devoted to works created within the last five years, with galleries presenting up to three artists each. “It’s a space designed for discovery. Whether you’re encountering new voices or seeing the evolution of an established practice, ‘Premiere’ offers a fresh, forward-looking view of contemporary art.”

This year also marks the launch of the Art Basel Awards Summit—a new public program of talks, free and open to all, designed to provoke conversation around urgent ideas shaping the art world today. The Summit will convene alongside the announcement of thirty-six winners of the inaugural Art Basel Awards. Honorees include emerging artists such as Mohammad Alfaraj, Meriem Bennani, Pan Daijing, Saodat Ismailova, Lydia Ourahmane and Sofia Salazar Rosales; established figures like Nairy Baghramian, Tony Cokes, Cao Fei, Ibrahim Mahama, Delcy Morelos and Ho Tzu Nyen; and contemporary icons including David Hammons, Lubaina Himid, Joan Jonas, Adrian Piper, Betye Saar and Cecilia Vicuña.

Cross-disciplinary honorees include Saidiya Hartman, Grace Wales Bonner and Formafantasma, while institutions receiving recognition include ART + PRACTICE, Jameel Arts Centre and RAW Material Company. Visionary curators such as Candice Hopkins, Shanay Jhaveri and Eungie Joo also make the list, alongside patrons like Shane Akeroyd, Maja Hoffmann and Joel Wachs. Community-focused initiatives such as Art Handlxrs*, Gasworks / Triangle Network and Sandra Terdjman are recognized as well, along with media and publishing voices like Negar Azimi, Barbara Casavecchia and The Journal of Curatorial Studies.

Aiming to rethink the traditional prize model in the creative fields, the Art Basel Awards will distribute nearly $300,000 annually in honorariums across the Emerging, Established and Icon categories. But beyond the funding, the initiative offers access to global networks, philanthropic platforms, bespoke partnerships and high-profile commissions—designed to propel artists’ practices onto new international stages.

Looking back on her first two editions at the helm—and ahead to what’s next—Cruse has concentrated on strengthening relationships, whether with first-time exhibitors or long-standing fair veterans. “That continuity, paired with openness to new voices, is key to keeping the fair relevant and responsive in an evolving art world,” she says.

Equally crucial to Cruse is nurturing the interplay between art, its community and the urban fabric that hosts it. “My past experiences—from Gallery Weekend Berlin and Art Berlin to the project space Forgotten Bar—shaped my belief that a moment like Art Basel only succeeds through deep collaboration,” she reflects. “It’s not just about the fair itself, but about working in concert with the city, its galleries, institutions, collectors, artists and audiences.”

With each fair now led by a dedicated director, Cruse believes Art Basel is better positioned to cultivate local and regional ecosystems with intention. “Being based in Basel—in the heart of Europe—gives us a unique vantage point,” she says. “My priority is to build on that legacy while helping shape a future that’s as connected, inclusive and ambitious as the art we present.”

Art Basel 2025 opens for VIPs on Monday, June 16, and to the public on June 19.