It's that time of year when the art world descends on Miami and Miami Beach to get more than an eyeful of art. With over 25 art fairs, museum openings, invite-only parties and private parties to choose from, it would put anyone on overload. Following is our Art Basel Miami Week Guide to navigating through plus a selection of guides around the Internet. After all, when there's too much to choose from, why choose only one guide?
See you Miami!
ART FAIRS
Art Basel Miami Beach is the center of the whirlwind. Taking place in the Miami Beach Convention Center, it will present over art from Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa set on 500,000 square feet of carpeted floor. Factor in their Salon Series, the Film Series, the pop up sculpture show at the Bass Museum and more events that is possible to attend, your entire art fair week could be spent here. With Design Miami across the parking lot and Art Miami across town, this would be a mistake.
My top picks for art fairs are Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Miami, Miami Project, Scope Miami and Pulse. The newest art fair on the block--Concept--also intrigues. Set on a yacht docked at Bayfront Park, it features a landlocked pop up exhibition connecting to New Mexico Arts's "Art in Public Places". The list of exhibitors is solid. Expect to find contemporary and modern art.
Need more? Ink Miami is typically strong and Pinta is presents its second edition in Miami this year. For the full list, visit our art fair directory by clicking here.
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Art Miami 2012. Courtesy Art Miami, LLC.
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ART PARTIES
Art fairs open with a vengeance tonight (Tuesday). They include Art Miami, Miami Project, Scope Miami, Untitled and Concept. If you're on the list, the Tipi Project opens at Morgan's Hotel Group at Mondrian South Beach on West Avenue. Features works by Misaki Kawai and Jen Stark. ICA Miami's Opening Celebration After-Party is another invite-only event. If you're on the list, you already know it. The museum's first show opens on Wednesday. Visit icamiami.org.
On Wednesday night, The Bass Art Museum will attract crowds for the public opening of "One Way: Peter Marino". Open to museum members (yes, you can still join and attend), the Opening Reception takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. At 8:30 p.m. on the front lawn, Basel performance unfold in conjunction with a temporary public sculpture installation.
On Thursday night, Nada starts its series of after parties at the Sandbar. #NADAWAVE is a series of performances organized in collaboration with Common Space held nightly at Sandbar, 6752 Collins Ave, Miami Beach (not the art fair held at The Deauville Beach Resort, 6701 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141.) A dance party, #NADAWAVE focuses on artists and musicians who innovate new forms at the unlikely combination of sounds and influences. Parties get started at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with late night sets on Thursday and Saturday. For details, visit nadawave.com.
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Opening Party for Art Basel Miami Beach 2012 for Badgeholders, held at the Raleigh Hotel.
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GALLERY, COLLECTIONS & MUSEUM SHOWS
Just because the art fairs are grabbing the main stage doesn't mean that Miami galleries are laying fallow. Click here for our list of five shows not to miss from the Miami art scene. And because five picks aren't nearly enough, there are plenty of new shows being unveiled to add to the list: the newly-opened ICA, the Rubell Family Collection's "To Have and To Hold: 50 Years of Marriage and Collecting Contemporary Art and MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in North Miami's first show since the reconfiguring, "Shifting the Paradigm: The Art of George Edozie".
Not enough? Add a visit to the Margulies Collection and wander through Wynwood Walls to get your art on.
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Detail of "Welcome to the Future" by Daniel Arsham. Courtesy of Locust Projects, Miami. Photo by Zack Balber with Ginger Photography.
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Ongoing coverage of Art Basel Miami Beach and Miami Art Fair Week continues at Hamptons Art Hub. Check back for daily dispatches.
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