Calling it "the single largest party that Gen Art has ever produced during Art Basel," Gen Art regional director Julia Brown said of Culture on the Verge: "We wanted to create a unique and unforgettable evening while also creating a buzz about the fair itself."With so many events taking place that night, the event organizers ensured that Basel-goers would find Culture on the Verge by floating an arrow-shaped balloon hundreds of feet in the air, pointing straight down to the park.
As guests entered the event, which took place at Roberto Clemente Park in the Wynwood District, a meadow of waist-high blades of green plastic grass opened onto an artistic "wonderland" not unlike the one Alice encountered after she went down the rabbit hole. In addition to nearly 100 exhibitions housed in Scope Miami's indoor pavilion, the lawn outside was bustling with creativity, including sporadic live performance art pieces; Between Life and Death, a 3D holographic exhibit by the Sanchez Brothers set inside a crashed bus; and a work by Massimilian Peretti which used biofeedback technology to convert guests' emotional reactions to art into live music.
The crowd of about 1,000 was encouraged to create art themselves. The Random International art crew from London, for example, invited guests to create "light graffiti" by painting onto a canvas using nothing but light. Those who love art (or their own bodies) were invited to sneak inside a tent and pose for a nude photo as part of Juan Carlos Zaldivar's Blind Trust exhibit. The photos were then pinned outside the tent for the world to see using wooden clothespins.
For those who needed a break from all the visual stimulation, the Lucite bar in the middle of the lawn served up everything from Bass Ale, Ciroc Vodka, and Johnnie Walker to Red Diamond Wines and SmartWater—all of which were sponsors of the event. Gen Art V.I.P.s enjoyed the view from their own lounge, which was set up with white leather and Lucite banquettes and a private bar stocked with Johnnie Walker Blue Label and Domaine St. Michelle. Metropolitan Home magazine, an event sponsor along with the Travel Channel, created a nouveau Moroccan living room on the lawn, which was also dotted with Lucite cocktail tables adorned with calla lilies. The event's platinum sponsor, Flamingo South Beach, provided the gift bags, which included custom CDs with pictures from the party set to music.
—Suzette Espinosa