Programs » Annual Conference
CAA 114th Annual Conference Book and Trade Fair
The Book and Trade Fair is an ideal opportunity to reach a highly engaged audience.
The CAA Annual Conference is the world’s largest gathering of visual arts professionals, convening over 4,000 practitioners from across the globe. Attendees come to share the latest scholarship and developments in professional practice to strengthen and advance their careers as scholars, authors, artists, and educators. The four-day conference covers an array of subjects in the fields of art, architectural, and design history and the visual arts by presenting more than 300 sessions, workshops, and events.
Publishers, global art suppliers, universities and colleges, foundations, magazines and journals, art materials manufacturers, digital-image resources, advanced study programs, membership organizations, and other services for visual art professionals make CAA’s Annual Conference Book and Trade Fair a must on the exhibit calendar. Whether you choose to exhibit at the Book and Trade Fair, participate as a sponsor, cohost an event, or place an ad on our website, there is a marketing opportunity that is right for you.
The 2026 conference will take place February 18–21 at the Hilton Chicago. All exhibitors will also receive a virtual exhibit for the online conference platform. Conference exhibitor content will be available there for on-demand access through April 10, 2026.
CAA conference surveys indicate over 80 percent of conference attendees visit the exhibitors at the Book and Trade Fair and 51 percent of CAA attendees spend more than $1000 at the onsite conference.
The Hilton Chicago is one of the city’s top conference destinations, within walking distance or convenient public transportation to world-renowned cultural attractions such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, the Field Museum, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago Architecture Center, and National Museum of Mexican Art along with Chicago’s Bridgeport, Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Pilsen, River North, West Loop, and Wicker Park gallery districts.
OPTIONS FOR EXHIBITORS
Exhibitors are offered exhibit booths on-site at the headquarters hotel, as well as virtually online. The in-person Book and Trade Fair offers Standard 8 x 10-foot exhibit booths with prime placement for sponsors. Also offered are Enterprise exhibits at a special price for qualified exhibitors. High visibility and immediate access are guaranteed: the exhibit hall is centrally located next to conference registration where all attendees check in. Virtual exhibits provide a full engagement environment with multiple formats for content as well as engagement features and statistics.
Full information, including pricing and exhibitor applications, will be available on our website and via mailing list in September 2025. Please contact Paul Skiff, CAA Senior Consultant for Conference, with any questions, and to join our mailing list.