IMMORTAL Queer Art Fair - 2.0 - Dia de Muertos - & Artist Residency Programming From The Bureau of Queer Art

IMMORTAL is not a booth fair. It is a collaboratively produced exhibition platform. Every project is different, every artist's needs are different, and every participation plan is developed individually. Our goal is not to maximize fees. Our goal is to maximize visibility while ensuring the sustainability of the artists, organizers, and community that make the project possible.

The information below is organized into three areas of participation. These may be selected individually or combined during the interview process, allowing each artist to align their studio goals with the larger TBQA ecosystem.

IMMORTAL RESIDENCY
October 1–26, 2026

The IMMORTAL Residency offers artists the opportunity to live and work alongside the exhibition's development in Mexico City.

Residents receive shared studio space, curator consultations, community gatherings, gallery and museum visits, and direct engagement with the artists participating in IMMORTAL.

The residency culminates with participation in the IMMORTAL Queer Art Fair.

Residency Contribution:
Start at 6,000 MXN

Additional exhibition needs need to be discussed individually during our interview process.

THE QUEER VAULT

The Queer Vault is IMMORTAL's dedicated print and small-works exhibition, created to make collecting queer art more accessible while providing artists with an additional avenue for visibility and sales.

Designed as an approachable retail-style browsing experience inspired by record shops and print fairs, The Queer Vault brings together prints, photographs, drawings, zines, publications, and small-scale works from participating artists in a single curated environment. Works are displayed in crates and browsing bins, protected in sleeves and backing boards for easy handling, encouraging visitors to flip through, discover, and purchase artwork directly. Rather than separating artists into individual booths or display areas, the Vault emphasizes discovery, allowing visitors to encounter a broad range of voices, aesthetics, and perspectives within the fair's larger ecosystem.

Works in The Queer Vault are intended to be approachable for emerging collectors while maintaining the same curatorial standards that define the broader IMMORTAL exhibition. Visitors may discover an artist through a print, publication, or small work and then continue exploring their larger practice throughout the fair.

The Queer Vault reflects one of TBQA's core beliefs: collecting art should not be reserved for a privileged few. By creating an entry point for new collectors, we strengthen the sustainability of queer artists, expand audiences, and encourage the growth of a more inclusive cultural economy.

Participating artists may submit prints and small works independently or alongside larger presentations elsewhere in IMMORTAL. Details regarding editions, pricing, and display requirements will be discussed during the participation planning process.

IMMORTAL 2.0 Art Fair
October 23–25, 2026
Install: October 20–22
Deinstall: October 26
Mexico City (CDMX)
Produced by The Bureau of Queer Art (TBQA)

IMMORTAL is an art fair.
But that is only part of the truth.

Held during Día de Muertos, IMMORTAL gathers Queer artists across borders to stand with memory — not as decoration, but as inheritance. We build space for what survives us.

In its first edition, artists described IMMORTAL as an accelerated residency. Three days that felt like weeks. Conversations that bypassed small talk. Collaborations that crossed countries. Work that changed in the presence of other work.

IMMORTAL functions commercially.
It behaves communally.
It leaves residue.

An application fee is required. The early-round fee has been lowered to broaden access while sustaining this artist-led platform.

IMMORTAL is not only about visibility.
It is about proximity.
About Queer artists building infrastructure together.
About compressing time so that the connection happens faster than the world expects.

Queer & Allied artists, organizations, and communities.
Please note: if you participated in IMMORTAL 2025  or a member of COLLECTIVO you do not pay a fee to apply. Please contact Micheal Swank for a discount code. 

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

– Statement (300 words max)
– 3 work samples
– Artwork details and pricing
– Short bio
– Desired spatial needs
– Confirmed availability Oct 20–26

How Contributions Support IMMORTAL


IMMORTAL operates through a shared-cost model rooted in both access and sustainability. This structure allows local Mexican artists to be supported without participation fees when financial obligations would otherwise prevent their inclusion in an art fair context. Flexible pricing is also extended to international artists whenever possible, but never in a way that risks the long-term survival of TBQA or the labor required to produce the platform.

Financial details will be discussed during the initial interview, after curatorial interest has been established. This allows us to speak honestly about each artist’s goals, needs, and capacity while protecting the collective production budget.

Our commitment to equity and sustainability is not decorative language. It is the condition that allows TBQA to continue to exist. Grants, public funding, corporate support, and other institutional funding streams often arrive with censorship, exclusions, and pressures toward more acceptable versions of Queer culture. IMMORTAL exists because we have chosen a community model that protects complexity, risk, and the broader significance of Queer art.