Travel guide: Everything you need for Art Basel Miami 2015

Miami’s most glitzy event of the year, the 2015 edition of Art Basel’s show in Miami Beach, runs December 3–6. Last year the fair attracted more than 70,000 visitors, many of whom include the world’s wealthiest jet-setters, the cultural elite, and of course, lots of celebrities, professional athletes and well-connected socialites. Without a doubt, Art Basel is the time of the year to see and be seen inMiami.

Photo courtesy of Art Basel

The main event takes place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, which is scheduled to undergo a major facelift after this year’s fair. The indoor exhibition space is divided into separate sectors, featuring 267 leading galleries from all over the world, including local artists. At nearby Collins Park and New World Center’s Soundscape Park, you’ll find large-scale artworks and live outdoor performances.

Art Basel has also spawned more than 20 satellite fairs, as well as lots of star-studded events held throughout the city, including parties in Miami’s artsiest neighborhoods. For cutting edge, contemporary works, satellite fairs like Pulse Miami Beach, NADA Art Fair, Art Miami, Context and Untitled are ones you won’t want to miss. New fairs this year include X Contemporary, Satellite and Art on Paper.

Photo courtesy of Art Miami

More must-see events to add to your list:

Wynwood: Goldman Properties’ Wynwood Walls is introducing 14 new murals and installations this year to the already existing collection of outdoor street art. The Wynwood Arts District’s graffiti-coated, windowless buildings provide a colorful canvas—like a collection of eclectic outdoor art museums. Wynwood Walls is also debuting a new adjacent space called “The Wynwood Walls Garden,” which is scheduled to open December 1. Open year-round. 2520 NW 2nd Ave., Miami. Additionally, Gary Nader, founder of the Nadar Latin American Art Museum (which will be the largest Latin American Art museum in the world), will display “THE MASTERS” exhibit at the Gary Nader Fine Art gallery in Wynwood. December 2-6. 62 NE 27th St., Miami.

Miami Beach: Soho Design House and YouTube are hosting a special panel of artists at Z Ocean Hotel, who will speak about their inspiration for their artwork on Soho Design House rugs, as wellas the changing landscape between art and the digital space. Attendees will learn how they can use videos to increase exposure for their creative endeavors. December 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. 1437 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. The National Hotel, a historic Art Deco property in the heart of South Beach, is partnering with world-renowned, hyperrealist sculptor Carole A. Feuerman, in collaboration with Markowicx Fine Art, to showcase her art installation on property. December 2-6, 1677 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. The most influential collectors and designers collaborate each year for Design Miami/, featuring museum-qualityexhibitions of high-end furniture, lighting and objets d’art. December 2-6, Meridian Ave. and 19th St., Miami Beach.

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Design District: In partnership with MIAMI Magazine, the Solesdi Showroom (housing Boffi, Henge and Listone Giordano) will welcome VIPs and festival patrons to their third annual Art Basel soiree. Artist residents from the upscale Cocoplum community will showcase their work in the building’s newly revealed wing while video mapping specialist, Joel Fitzpatrick will bring the building’s exterior to life. December 4, 3800 NE 2nd Ave., Miami. 

Brickell: Four Seasons Hotel Miami’s pop-up art gallery will complement the hotel’s already existing multi-million dollar art collection, including works by Colombian-born Fernando Botero. The hotel will also showcase 17 canvases by Spanish artist Antonio Dominguez de Haro. This is the first time in 30 years that Dominguez de Haro’s work is on display in the United States, and the first time ever in Miami. Nov. 30-Dec. 6. 1435 Brickell Ave., Miami. The newly completed Brickell City Centre will host a dramatic lighting ceremony and a 20-foot Allen Jones sculpture will also be unveiled. An elegant cocktail party will follow. December 1, 67 SW 8th St., Miami.

Brickell Key: Violin performer, Pauchi Sasaki will wear a dress made from speakers at the VIP preview of Peruvian gallery MORBO’s exhibition at Mandarin Oriental Miami. The event will feature works by Alex Brewer, aka HENSE, inside the hotel’s Peruvian restaurant, La Mar by Gaston Acurio. December 3-6. 500 Brickell Key Drive, Miami.

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Downtown: InterContinental Miami’s exhibition, “Form and Substance” will combine an interior exhibition of projection mapping, video, light art and a monumental exterior public art installation projected onto the hotel’s 360-foot north façade, visible from Bayfront Park and beyond. Dec. 2-5, 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami. And the JW Marriott Marquis Miami will debut an international exhibition that will flow from the hotel’s stunning lobby to the lounge space at db Bistro Moderne. December 1-6, 255 Biscayne Blvd. Way, Miami.

North Miami: The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA) will open it’s Art Basel festivities with an opening reception of Colombian painter Carlos Salas’ exhibition “Latin America and the Global Imagination,” including 60 monumental abstract paintings by the artist. December 2-Feb. 2. 770 NE 125th St., Miami.

Photo courtesy of Art Basel

For information about additional satellite fairs and events, check out the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Art Basel 2015 planning guide.

Tagged: Destinations, Florida