Don’t let Art Basel Miami’s reputation for art fairs, lavish parties and late-night revelry make you miss the point of this annual gathering: the artists who create works that ignite both admiration and existential doubt about your career choices, particularly with the recent $6.2 million sale of the Art Basel Miami 2019 viral piece, Comedian. To navigate this year’s overwhelming deluge of Art Basel Miami events, I’m making time to connect with a few creators whose talents shape the cultural zeitgeist—and whose collaborations with the world’s most prestigious luxury brands offer lessons for CMOs navigating their own brand storytelling.
Among my conversations for this Art Basel Miami events series will be fellow Nigerian and also of Yoruba blood like myself, Olaolu Slawn, whose defaced Rolexes and Louis Vuitton collaborations regularly sell out long before you know they’re available.
I’ll be sharing wisdom from Ashley Longshore, the pop-art provocateur whose partnerships with Gucci and Porsche bring her irreverent vision to the luxury world. Then there’s Harry Benson, whose lens has immortalized everyone from The Beatles to Jacqueline Kennedy, capturing the icons who define global culture. Finally, Clarence James, a rising star with brand collaborations as varied as Fendi and Macy’s, is a master of abstraction whose murals have added grit and vibrance to urban landscapes.
But this year’s roster is vast, and the artists exhibiting at various Art Basel Miami events I won’t be interviewing are no less worthy of your attention. Look out for rising talents and established names pushing boundaries in everything from digital art to immersive installations. Among the highlights are works by Boy George and Johnny Depp, limited edition prints from Alex Katz, and Russell Young, who will debut a new collection in collaboration with MLB and Derek Jeter.
I’ll just say now what you’ll be thinking in, oh, about six minutes: Art Basel Miami Beach is conspicuously missing from this list. This is no way a snub. Let’s just say, you’ll need to return here to know why. In the meantime, this year’s other Miami Art Week events are brimming with creative brilliance waiting to be discovered. Here are a few venues you shouldn’t miss.
The Open Invitational
- Palm Court Event Space: 140 NE 39th Street, 3rd Floor, Miami, FL
- December 2–8, 2024
I have to thank Bridget Finn, Director of Art Basel Miami, for putting The Open Invitational on my radar. In a week overflowing with blue-chip artists and dazzling installations, this freshman exhibition is refreshing in its inclusion. It focuses on work from studios supporting artists with disabilities.
Detroit’s Progressive Art Studio Collective (PASC) and New York’s LAND Studio, two of the 11 participants, will display works spanning painting, sculpture, and fiber arts and challenging perceptions of who can be a successful artist. Organized by gallerist David Fierman and arts patron Ross McCalla, with support from the Miami Design District’s Craig Robins, The Open Invitational is an example of what happens when inclusivity meets unfiltered creativity.
SCOPE Art Show
- Ocean Drive and 8th Street, Miami Beach, FL
- December 3–8, 2024
Supporting fellow Nigerians—especially those of my same Yoruba heritage—will always influence me, which is how SCOPE Art Show secured its place on my list of Art Basel Miami events recommendations. British-Nigerian multidisciplinary artist Yinka Ilori MBE will debut two large-scale installations, Lift Me Higher With Joy and The Shrine of Affirmations, as part of SCOPE’s New Contemporary platform. Ilori’s works invite visitors to connect through community, positivity, collective empowerment and reflection—all themes close to the heart of Nigerian culture.
SCOPE’s New Contemporary platform features over 85 exhibitors from 15 countries, including of note Dr. Esther Mahlangu’s monumental 26-foot-wide painting Ukuthula Makube Nawe (Peace Be With You), and Hebru Brantley’s Black Oddyssey, a carnival-style celebration of African American culture. Expect performances by Disclosure and Etienne Charles, panels on AI in art and Black fashion.
Bertrand Productions at Scope Art Fair
Philadelphia’s Bertrand Productions returns to Scope Art Fair with three dynamic artists and their abstract narratives on contemporary culture, Afrofuturism and urban memory. Roger Allan Cleaves presents his vivid Afrofuturistic multiverse, Forget Me Nots Land. Galen Gibson-Cornell transforms urban street posters from cities worldwide into intricate weavings of “site-specific memories” to capture the energy of urban life. And Stacey Lee Webber’s artistic vision is translated into metalsmith crafted works collected by the Smithsonian and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Art Beat Miami
- 5400 NW 22nd Ave. Miami, FL 33142
- December 4–8, 2024
For over a decade, Art Beat Miami has been bringing art in all forms—visual, performing, culinary, and fashion— to give voice to Caribbean and African-American artists in South Florida. Under this year’s theme, Destination: MIA, the Little Haiti Optimist Club has a dynamic lineup of over 30 painters, sculptors, musicians, chefs, and fashion designers in a vibe that’s bold, vibrant, and unapologetically accessible. From mural unveilings and artist conversations to the Chefs of the Caribbean Celebrity Brunch and Sew Artsy: Art on the Catwalk, there’s a little something for everyone. Admission is free with registration.
Art Miami 2024
- One Herald Plaza at NE 14th Street, Downtown Miami
- December 3-8, 2024
Art Miami, the city’s original contemporary and modern art fair, returns for its 34th edition with over 160 galleries from 21 countries. Known for presenting premier works of the 20th and 21st centuries, this year's edition includes debuts from galleries Blond Contemporary (London) and Gallery UG (Tokyo). The fair begins on December 3 with exclusive Platinum VIP Preview hours, offering an early look at an expansive collection of paintings, sculptures, and digital media. Art Miami runs in conjunction with CONTEXT Art Miami.
Bjørn Okholm Skaarup At Cavalier Ebanks Galleries, Art Miami
Bjørn Okholm Skaarup’s bronze sculptures—blending mythology, pop culture, and classical artistry into whimsical creations like his Hippo Ballerina and Bear Roller Skater—instantly spark my inner storyteller as I contemplate the narratives behind his creative process. His designs are an imaginative feast, with a giraffe standing on stilts, a kangaroo bouncing on a pogo stick, and frogs reenacting Homeric battles. Represented by Cavalier Ebanks Galleries at this year’s Art Miami, this is an artist whose work I’m eager to see in person. If you also make the pilgrimage to see Skaarup’s work, let me know what you think.
CONTEXT Art Miami
- One Herald Plaza, Downtown Miami
- December 3–8, 2024
CONTEXT Art Miami, the sister fair to Art Miami, celebrates its 12th edition as a platform for emerging, mid-career, and avant-garde talent. Showcasing works from 73 galleries across 19 countries, the fair invites collectors and enthusiasts to engage in dialogues about contemporary art’s evolving landscape. Notable galleries Galerie Adrienne Desbiolles (Zürich), Blink Group Gallery (Miami), and Harman Projects (New York) are set to unveil special projects alongside ten majestic installations.
Faena Art Presents: Nicholas Galanin’s Monumental Installation And More
- 3201 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL
- December 3–8, 2024
Faena Art’s 2024 programming brings Tlingit and Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin and his monumental site-specific installation, Seletega (run, see if people are coming/corre a ver si viene gente), partially buried within Faena Beach. Evoking the masts and sails of a Spanish galleon emerging from the sand, the installation embodies the weight of irreversible choices and the profound sacrifices necessary for collective liberation.
Inside the Faena Hotel Cathedral, multidisciplinary artist Lyra Drake makes her debut with Infinite Faith in a Finite World, an AI-driven installation inviting conversation with a feminine oracle. Contributing to the City of Miami Beach’s No Vacancy initiative, Miami-based artist Magnus Sodamin presents his nature-inspired creation, Reflections of Florida Wild.
Aqua Art Miami
- Aqua Hotel, 1530 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL
- December 4–8, 2024
Now in its 18th year, Aqua Art Miami remains a Miami Art Week staple, offering an intimate experience at the Aqua Hotel with 41 galleries spotlighting emerging and mid-career artists from 12 countries. Ashley Longshore is my breakout artist from this fair, who I’ll be interviewing in the coming days. Also look out for rising star Paris Brosnan, and a penthouse exhibition by Jenny Chandler. The mural on the hotel façade this year is by Portuguese artist ADD FUEL (Diogo Machado), presented by Fabien Castanier Gallery. Aqua Art Miami is part of the larger Art Miami network, connecting with sister fairs, Art Miami and CONTEXT, for Miami Art Week.
Untitled Art: A Global Perspective On Contemporary Art
- Miami Beach, Ocean Drive & 12th Street
- December 4–8, 2024
Untitled Art Miami Beach returns for its 13th edition with East Meets West, bridging cultural divides with voices from Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and the Asian diaspora, as curated by Kathy Huang of Jeffrey Deitch, New York, and Jungmin Cho of WHITE NOISE, Seoul. Untitled Art continues its Nest sector initiative, subsidizing booths for up-and-coming galleries and non-profits while breaking down discovery barriers for creatives. Look out for presentations from Library Street Collective’s collection of tapestries, quilts, and assemblages by artists Akea Brionne, Christy Matson, Gary Tyler and Tyrrell Winston.
Museum Of Ice Cream Miami
- 851 NE 1st Ave, Miami, FL
- December 4–8, 2024
There are no artists to meet here, just scoops of sweet escapism. While these fairs present the world’s finest creative talents, the Museum of Ice Cream Miami is serving up an exclusive promotion for Art Basel attendees from December 4 to December 8. Your Art Basel pass earns you a complimentary cocktail as you wander through this 14,000 square feet dairy delightful wonderland of interactive installations. Look for the retro Cream Liner, a 60s-inspired airplane, and the famous sprinkle pool, inspired by the iconic Versace Mansion. Between your sugary bliss and posing for the ‘gram, the Museum of Ice Cream is the perfect place to chill—literally and figuratively—amid the frenzy of Art Basel Miami events.
A Gift Idea for the Art Enthusiast Worth Unboxing After Attending These Art Basel Miami Events
Among an inbox full of Art Basel Miami events, venue press releases, and suggestion for my upcoming holiday gift guide series, I came across Artistry Unboxed, a brilliantly apropos concept for anyone who finds this specific article the most engaging across my Art Basel Miami 2024 series and is working on their holiday shopping list.
The brainchild of Hutton Kalik, gallery director of the Patrick Jones Gallery in Dallas, Artistry Unboxed is a quarterly subscription service taking art appreciation into an ongoing journey of discovery. The service introduces collectors, designers, and enthusiasts to artists they may otherwise never encounter. Each box includes highlights of two artists—complete with bios, CVs, and prints of their latest work—plus an original artwork from a third artist. It’s a beautifully curated way to explore contemporary art from both emerging talents and established names, with Art Basel Miami alumni Sarah Larsen, winner of Art Basel Miami’s 2022 Best Booth Design being previously featured. 2025 boxes will showcase other Art Basel alums like Ziesook You and Raster.
“There are so many incredibly talented artists, emerging and established that collectors have never heard of,” Kalik explained. “Not everyone has the opportunity to be exposed to what is happening in the contemporary art world, so we thought this could be a great way to showcase artists from around the globe to the art curious or the seasoned art collector.”
Next up, we’ll be looking at my top recommendations of where to rest your head in between your Art Basel Miami events adventures.
Here’s your cheat sheet for your Art Basel Miami Art Week decision making:
- What events to attend
- Which fairs and artists to watch
- Where to stay and play