The Afterglow of The Affordable Art Fair Austin '26 | A Beautiful End to a Defining Season

We’re still recovering… in the best way possible.

This past weekend, The Women’s Gallery had the honor of exhibiting at the Affordable Art Fair

Austin alongside an incredible mix of international, national, and local galleries, and the energy inside the fair all weekend long was something truly special.

There is something powerful about watching thousands of people slow down long enough to connect with art.

We watched collectors stand silently in front of pieces. We watched people return for second and third looks. We watched conversations turn into connections, and connections turn into artworks finding their forever homes. We are so happy to share that many works from our booth were collected throughout the weekend, and there is honestly no better feeling than helping place meaningful artwork into spaces where it will continue living and being loved every day.

One of the most exciting moments for our booth was the unveiling of The Queen’s Ascent by Award-winning Hyperrealist Vehicle Artist Shan Fannin. The piece was created as a tribute to Audi craftsmanship and in gratitude to John Bowyer of South Austin Audi, whose sponsorship supported Shan’s participation in the fair through The Women’s Gallery. Seeing people gather around the work all weekend and hearing the reactions in person was incredibly special.

We also want to sincerely thank Fair Director Cori Teague, Kelsi Brinkmeyer, Bella Villianueva and the entire Affordable Art Fair Austin team for building such a warm, welcoming, and thoughtfully curated experience for galleries, artists, and collectors alike. The fair felt vibrant, approachable, and deeply community-driven from beginning to end.

A special thank you to our incredible team, Annalee Ramsey, E Guenthner, and Kalista Tamez, for the long hours, flexibility, and support that kept everything running smoothly throughout the fair. And to my husband, Nadeem Ahmad, thank you for always making things happen and holding down the fort through every season.

Most of all, thank you to every single person who visited our booth, spent time with the work, asked questions, supported women artists, shared our mission, or simply paused long enough to feel something.

As Austin continues growing into a larger cultural city, it feels deeply important to continue making space for women artists to be seen, collected, celebrated, and supported professionally.

We left the weekend exhausted, inspired, grateful, and already dreaming about what comes next.

With love,

The Women’s Gallery