Artsy’s All-Encompassing Guide to Art Basel in Miami Beach 2013
This year’s Art Basel in Miami Beach boasts 20,000 square meters of exhibition space, a new Editions section, a full film program, and a bevy of talks, artist commissions, and nearby exhibitions and events. With last year’s attendance exceeding 70,000 people over its five-day run, this year is sure to meet your highest expectations.
1. The Basics
Art Basel in Miami Beach takes place at the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) (1901 Convention Center Dr.), a short walk from South Beach’s iconic shoreline. The fair is open to the public Dec. 5th–8th, opening at noon each day. You can purchase tickets online here. If you also plan to visit Design Miami/, save by purchasing a combination ticket.
2. A Must-See Event
Art Basel in Miami Beach eclipses the traditional art fair as a premier, global art world event. Significantly located at the crossroads of North America and Latin America, the fair extends far beyond the MBCC venue through a series of events, exhibitions, and satellite fairs taking place across Miami, planned around the fair and taking place simultaneously. A beacon of current trends in modern and contemporary art, Art Basel in Miami Beach sets the tone for art in the year to come.
3. A Variety of Art Sectors
Over 200 top modern and contemporary art galleries from around the world travel to Miami Beach, showing paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, prints, photography, film, video, and digital art from over 4,000 artists. From museum-quality works to enormous installations to site-specific commissions, Art Basel in Miami Beach accommodates a wide spectrum of art objects, providing an eclectic showcase to appeal to a diverse audience. With a strong emphasis on the key role that galleries play in the promotion of art, Art Basel in Miami Beach offers multiple specialized sectors, to host a wide variety galleries and types of art. In addition to the main Galleries sector, the fair includes:
Nova: Gallery booths include new works by one, two, or three artists.
Positions: Solo shows where booths are dedicated to a single artist and one major work.
Kabinett: Galleries put on exhibitions with specific curatorial concepts.
Plus Edition, Public, and Film, which are explained below.
See the official floor plan, here.
4. The Edition Sector
In addition, this year’s fair debuts an Edition sector comprised of 13 select galleries that will show prime limited-edition prints and works on paper. This sector includes several galleries new to Art Basel in Miami Beach including Alan Cristea Gallery, Crown Point Press, gdm, Pace Prints, Paul Stolper Gallery, and Singapore Tyler Print Institute.
5. The Public Sector
Curated by Nicholas Baume, Director and Chief Curator of Public Art Fund, and mounted in collaboration with the Bass Museum of Art, “Social Animals” is this year’s Public sector—an outdoor sculpture park. Located at Collins Park (2100 Collins Ave.), this sector is free and open to the public. The park includes sculptures by Jeppe Hein, Thomas Houseago, Alicja Kwade, Sam Falls, and Tony Tasset, among many others. The Bass Museum offers tours Dec. 5th-8th at 10:30am, 11:30am, and 12:30pm.
Public also has a special opening night event on Dec. 4 at 8:30pm. The night includes new performance works by Kate Gilmore, Ryan McNamara, Olaf Breuning, and David Colman, and Mungo Thomson will provide the evening’s soundtrack with four live musicians imitating crickets.
6. The Film Sector
Art Basel in Miami Beach’s film sector takes place at the MBCC, and inside individual viewing pods there, as well as at Colony Theater and outdoors at SoundScape Park, where films will be projected onto the wall of the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center. Organized by David Gryn, Director of Artprojx in London, and Art Basel curator This Brunner, this year’s film program offers an engaging selection of films by artists or about them. Each night of the fair, a feature-length film or a series of short films will be free and open to the public. Highlights include:
New Dream Machine and Other Films, Dec. 4, 9pm.
Arabesque and Reanimation: Dara Birnbaum and Joan Jonas, Dec. 5, 10pm.
Nan Goldin – I Remember Your Face (2013) by Sabine Lidl, Dec. 6, 8:30pm.
Farewell to the Past: Yinka Shonibare MBE, Dec. 6, 9pm.
Find the full film schedule and details, here.
7. Conversations
Conversations, one half of the talks program, offers a series of dialogues between highly accomplished artists and art professionals, who share their points of view on collecting, exhibiting, and making art. Conversations are free and open to the public, and take place Dec. 5th-8th, each morning from 10 to 11:30, in Hall C auditorium. One hour of discussion is followed by a 30-minute Q&A session. This year’s Conversations are:
“Premiere: Artist Talk”: Doug Aitken, Dec. 5, 10am.
“Public/Private: Museums Go Global”: Patrick Charpenel, Chris Dercon, Chus Martinez, and Alexandra Munroe, with moderator András Szántó, Dec. 6, 10am.
“The Artist and the Gallerist”: Abraham Cruzvillegas, Monica Manzutto, and Jose Kuri, with moderator Mark Rappolt, Dec. 7, 10am.
“Artistic Practice: The Artist as Technologist”: Cory Arcangel, Cécile B. Evans, Camille Henrot, and Robert Whitman, with moderator Hans Ulrich Obrist, Dec. 8, 10am.
8. Salon
The other half of the talks program, Salon, is an extensive series of concise presentations or informal discussions that take place each afternoon Dec. 5th-8th, from 1pm to 7pm, also in the Hall C auditorium. Access to the hour-long talks is free with a ticket to the fair. Participants include highly esteemed artists, gallerists, curators, art historians, art professionals, collectors, writers, and other significant cultural figures. Highlights include:
“Art Market vs. Art History”: Josh Baer and Joseph Kosuth, Dec. 5, 1pm.
“Olafur Eliasson: Little Sun”: Olafur Eliasson and Klaus Biesenbach, Dec. 5, 3pm
“Artist Talk: Tracey Emin”: Tracey Emin and Sir Norman Rosenthal, Dec. 5, 6pm
“Bankrupt Cities. Endangered Museums: Learning From the Case of the Detroit Institute of Arts”: Dennis Scholl and Stephen K. Urice, with moderator Andras Szanto, Dec. 6, 6pm.
9. Art Critic-Led Tours
Successfully navigate the lively MBCC fairgrounds with a guided tour given by the established art critics of ArtNexus. Tours are available daily, Dec. 5th-8th. To make a reservation contact Maria Sol Romero, at 786.468.1913, or email [email protected].
10. See and Be Seen
In addition to gallery booths, films, and talks, a number of performances and cultural events take place surrounding Art Basel in Miami Beach, in addition to numerous nightlife and dining events. Many events are free with admission to the fair; explore the fair’s full calendar of events here. Some highlights include:
Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM): Formerly the Miami Art Museum, PAMM (located at 1103 Biscayne Boulevard), opens just in time for Miami Art Week, with a comprehensive program of exhibitions and events including an Ai Weiwei show and performances by Los Jaichackers. Find out more here.
“Tracey Emin: Angel Without You” at MOCA North Miami: Coinciding with Art Basel in Miami Beach is the opening of Tracey Emin’s first solo museum exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (at 770 NE 125th St), dedicated to her extensive body of neon artworks. Learn more here.
Michy’s Miami Beach Pop Up by Michelle Bernstein: Located across the street from the MBCC at the Miami Beach Botanical garden, this exclusive, 100-seat pop-up restaurant will feature the esteemed chef’s classic fare in a five-course, art-inspired meal. Purchase tickets here.
Night Court: Absolut Art Bar by Ry Rocklen: Artist Ry Rocklen was commissioned to design this year’s Absolut Art Bar. Located on the Oceanfront, between 21st and 22nd streets, a 10-minute walk from the MBCC, Night Court is the artist’s brainchild, for guests to explore while enjoying bespoke Absolut cocktails. Read our interview with Rocklen for the inside scoop on Night Court.
Images: Art Basel in Miami Beach 2012 Selects:
View of entrance at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2012. Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Art Basel in Miami Beach 2012
View of Positions sector at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2012. Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Art Basel in Miami Beach 2012
View of Art Video at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2012. Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Art Basel in Miami Beach 2012
Explore Art Basel in Miami Beach on Artsy and Artsy’s Editorial Highlights from the Miami Art Fairs.
