Art Basel Miami Beach

Last updated
Art Basel Miami Beach
Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 02.jpg
Art Basel Messeplatz
Genre Art fair
DatesEarly December
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s) Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Inaugurated2002
Next eventDecember 2025
Organized by Art Basel
People Bridget Finn, director

Art Basel Miami Beach, sometimes referred to as "Art Basel Miami," is an art fair founded in 2002 as an offshoot of the flagship Art Basel fair in Switzerland. It is currently considered the most important art fair in the United States [1] and was the first of the Art Basel satellite fairs outside of Basel

Contents

The main fair takes place in early December each year in the Miami Beach Convention Center and forms the cornerstone of Miami Art Week. [2]

As of 2024, the director of Art Basel Miami Beach is Bridget Finn. [3]

History

Local Miami art collectors, including Don and Mera Rubell, worked to convince Art Basel fair organizers and local Florida government officials that Miami was a logical stop in the art world circuit. [4] [5]

The Rubells, who were long-time art collectors had purchased a 40,000-square-foot warehouse for their growing art collection in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami in 1993. They were then instrumental in wooing the Swiss-based Art Basel fair to begin a Miami edition.

The inaugural Miami fair was originally scheduled for 2001, but was delayed after the 9/11 attacks. [4]

Miami Art Week

Art Basel Miami Beach has catalyzed some two dozen satellite art fairs with different curatorial focuses to form Miami Art Week. Among the more established of the satellite conferences are

Focus

Due to its geographic location, Art Basel Miami Beach fair highlights Latin American galleries, artists and institutions. [10]

Costs

As of 2024, the cost for a gallery booth in the main section of Art Basel Miami Beach ranged generally ranged from $60,000 to $80,000 with additional costs for a corner booth or other prime placement on the show floor. The sections for smaller galleries have booths that were priced at $11,000 and $26,000. [3]

Criticism

The rapid growth and success of Art Basel Miami Beach attracted some level of backlash. By the 2010s, critics said Art Basel Miami Beach had become a symbol of everything that was wrong with the art world. [11] Writing in Slate in 2012, Simon Doonan called Art Basel Miami Beach a "promo-party cheese-fest" where he "would rather jump in a river of boiling snot" than attend the art fair. [12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sokol, Brett (2019-11-29). "Art Basel Miami, Where Big Money Meets Bigger Money". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  2. 1 2 Vassolo, Sommer Brugal,Martin (2024-11-20). "Miami Art Week 2024: Basel and other fairs to check out". Axios. Retrieved 2025-06-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 Sokol, Brett (2024-11-30). "Bridget Finn Takes the Helm of Miami's Big-League Art Fair". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  4. 1 2 Loos, Ted (2022-11-30). "'The Miracle of Miami': Art Basel Marks 20 Years in South Florida". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  5. Sokol, Brett (2019-11-29). "Art Basel Miami, Where Big Money Meets Bigger Money". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  6. Vassolo, Sommer Brugal,Martin (2024-11-20). "Miami Art Week 2024: Basel and other fairs to check out". Axios. Retrieved 2025-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 3 Loos, Ted (2019-12-03). "A (Brief) Guide to Miami Art Fairs". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  8. Wood, Falyn (22 October 2019). "SCOPE Miami Beach 2019". Time Out Miami. Time Out Group. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  9. "Scope Art Show Returns to Miami With a Focus on Collaboration". Artnet News. Artnet. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  10. Loos, Ted (2024-12-02). "What to Know at Art Basel Miami Beach". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  11. Cohen, Patricia (2012-12-08). "An Art World Gathering, Divided by Money". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  12. Doonan, Simon (2013-12-17). "Why the Art World Is So Loathsome". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved 2025-06-22.