NEW YORK, NY.- The inaugural Downtown Fair, a new modern and contemporary art fair produced by the ownership team of Art Miami, opens its doors on May 8th in New York City. The fair debuts during Frieze Week, one of the busiest and most exciting weeks of the city's 2014 art and cultural season, and alongside the highly-anticipated post-war and contemporary art auctions at the major auction houses. The Downtown Fair will celebrate with an elegant invitation only High-Tea VIP Preview from 2-5 PM on Thursday, May 8thproviding a First View for VIP collectors and accredited members of the Press, and welcomes collectors, art enthusiasts, curators, art advisers and international visitors through Sunday, May 11th.

The Downtown Fair will provide a fresh alternative to acquire important never-before-exhibited works from both the primary and secondary markets in an intimate light. The fair will cater to both seasoned and new art collectors who are looking to experience the best of what the global contemporary art market has to offer in New York City this May. The versatile and rich selection of works on display will have a strong focus and representation of emergent talent, as well as mid-career cutting-edge artists, anchored by a fresh selection of secondary market works by top name artists from the Modern & Post-War eras. Nearly 600 artists from over 35 countries will be on display at the fair. The Downtown Fair will complement the Frieze Art Fair, offering all Frieze VIP cardholders complimentary admittance to the fair, as well as a courtesy shuttle service to and from the Frieze Ferry, which is located just 10 blocks away on 35th street.

From over 200 dealer submissions, the top 50 galleries were carefully selected by the Downtown Fair's formal Dealer Selection/Advisory Committee, which includes Yossi Milo of Yossi Milo Gallery, Nancy Hoffman owner of Nancy Hoffman Gallery, and William Shearburn of his eponymous gallery. The Selection Committee worked closely with Fair Director/Partner Nick Korniloff and participating galleries to ensure a carefully-curated, rich-in-content, quality presentation, allowing collectors, institutions, curators and art advisors to buy with confidence.

Participating galleries include: Yossi Milo Gallery, Danese/Corey, ARCHEUS/POST-MODERN, BOSI Contemporary, Coagula Curatorial, William Shearburn Gallery, HackelBury Fine Art, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, Nicholas Metivier, David Lusk Gallery, Armand Bartos Fine Art, Cynthia-Reeves, Arcature Fine Art, David Klein Gallery, CHOWAIKI & CO, Durham Press, Richard Levy Gallery, Mixografia, Modernism Inc., Peter Blake Gallery, Robert Mann Gallery, Wasserman Projects, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Catherine Edelman, Jerald Melberg Gallery, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Galerie von Braunbehrens, Galerie Andreas Binder, among others.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring a world class fair to New York City during this important week for the acquisition of art. We look forward to welcoming the world's leading art collectors, curators, institutions, designers, artists and art enthusiasts to this historic venue and the inaugural Downtown Fair," said Downtown Fair Director Nick Korniloff.

These prestigious galleries will exhibit in an intimate and elegant modern airy setting, designed against the dramatic backdrop of the historic 69th Regiment Armory, a 30,000 square foot beaux-arts landmark at Lexington Avenue and 25th Street, in the heart of the Flatiron District and at the crossroad of the energetic downtown art scene of the Lower East Side, Soho and Chelsea. Produced by the Art Miami team, the fair's refined ambiance will be welcoming and appealing to all levels of visitors, from the seasoned collector looking to enlarge his collection, to the art enthusiast looking to create a collection.