At the weeklong extravaganza of Miami Art Week, where Art Basel and its satellite fairs drew crowds to events in Miami Beach and beyond, some of the biggest events and activations came from media companies. Harper's Bazaar, Architectural Digest, Saveur, Flaunt, Interview, Niche Media, and Paper were among those sponsoring festivities during the busy week.
One of the largest undertakings was Flaunt magazine and Wildfox’s “Affordable Care” show, which attracted art and music lovers for six days of performances and appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Vanessa Beecroft, Darkside, Boy George, and others. Wynwood soundstage the Mana Production Village was decked out in tree-scapes, red lighting, a main stage, and a pop-up gallery. Sunday saw a closing party featuring top DJs and Miami’s own hip-hop legend Trick Daddy.
Harper’s Bazaar had one of the most ambitious lineups with a full week of programming at multiple venues within Soho Beach House. The centerpiece was its ShopBazaar pop-up boutique, which showcased brands such as Acne, Proenza Schouler, and Dion Lee. MCM’s Craig & Karl hosted a bash to launch a new collection, and a “Day of Beauty” offered appointments for makeup applications and hairstyling courtesy of Givenchy and Moroccanoil.
Under the direction of designer Mark Cunningham, Architectural Digest returned to South Beach with its AD Oasis lounge at a new venue, the James Royal Palm. The space was outfitted in a serene color scheme of shades of blue and neutral tones and had its own undulating logo created by Wilcox LA. Wicker furniture by Dedon provided comfortable nooks throughout the outdoor space, while Sunbrella showcased new patio decor. The lounge also became a venue for events from other brands including a breakfast and paddleboard clinic hosted by Dedon and a happy hour hosted by Caesarstone.
Saveur partnered with Heineken for an intimate dinner December 5 to honor local up-and-coming artist Alexander Mijares (the talent behind the rubber ducky Art Basel attraction at SLS Hotel South Beach). The dinner and cocktail pairing took place at the Gale South Beach’s Dolce, where the artist collaborated on a menu in which each course evoked one of his works.
Haute Living sponsored a fashionable bash along with Hublot, the Mourning Foundation, and artist Hebru Brantley Friday night at 5 Star Island. A bevy of Ferraris and statues and art by Brantley served as spectacles for the exclusive event that included a Dom Pérignon champagne and caviar lounge. Another eye-catching component was the Hublot helicopter, which shuttled A-list guests to the affair, as well as Ferrari-inspired Hublot timepieces displayed in poolside cases that incorporated hologram technology.
The most significant event of the week, though, was the debut of the Perez Art Museum Miami downtown. A series of launch events, including Saturday night’s PAMM Premiere Gala for 750 guests, invited the Miami elite and art world V.I.P.s to the Herzog & de Meuron-designed contemporary art museum. The evening, produced by Cream, began with a lavish cocktail reception followed by a seated dinner from Stephen Starr Events; Marc Anthony also performed.
At Ketel One vodka's De Nolet event, guests watched as New York-based artist Shaun El C. Leonardo staged a wrestling performance in a ring strewn with rose petals.
Massive rainbow-hued inflatables decorated the pool at the Mondrian South Beach. FriendsWithYou, Paul Kasmin Gallery, and Paper magazine collaborated on the installation with Morgans Hotel Group. The installation will remain at the hotel through January 15.
Perez Art Museum Miami made its debut last week in a series of events culminating in the Premiere Gala on Saturday, which drew 750 guests for a cocktail reception, a seated dinner catered by Stephen Starr Events, and a concert by Marc Anthony. Cream produced the event.
Tegan and Sara performed at the official VH1 & Scope Party on a stage set up on the beachfront in Miami Beach.
Swarovski held a private dinner at Soho Beach House December 4 to mark its collaboration with Brazilian architect and designer Guilherme Torres. At the event, designed by Shiraz Events, guests had views of the beach from their seats.
Guests walked through four custom glitter boxes to enter the tent. The boxes refracted the light from the chandeliers and made for an attractive background where celebrities posed for photos.
Shiraz Events designed three different floral centerpieces that included white phalaenopsis orchids, mini calla lilies, and amarillys set in silver or glass vases. Swarovski light boxes completed the scene.
Miami-based artist Alexander Mijares decorated the giant duck at SLS Hotel South Beach in a colorful canvas wrap for a pool party at Hyde Beach December 7.
Hundreds of colorful replicas of the rubber duckies painted with Mijares’s artwork floated in the pool at Hyde Beach.
At the Roger Dubuis dinner, held in the private residents' gardens of the W South Beach on December 4, a live bald eagle named Challenger was on hand to pose with guests—including Gerard Butler (pictured, left), an ambassador for the Swiss watchmaker—in honor of the brand's Crowned Eagle timepiece. Following the seated dinner, the space that had been the cocktail area was converted into a sleek lounge complete with Dom Pérignon bottles with glowing labels designed by Jeff Koons, along with one of the artist's $20,000 Balloon Venue pieces.
Tim Biskup's "Head in the Hole" work provided an interactive installation for attendees of the Pulse Contemporary Art Fair, a satellite fair at the Ice Palace Studios.
Pulse patrons could relax outside in hammocks. People used the space for picnics and sunbathing; sunscreen packets were handed out at the entrance.
Nas performed at the Hennessy V.S and Fader event at Pulse.
A decor piece dubbed the “Enchanting Tree” held Perrier-Jouët champagne flutes at a dinner at Soho Beach House's Tiki Garden. The tree, commissioned by the brand, as well as smaller versions, traveled to several events affiliated with Design Miami.
Niche Media's Art of the Party took over a private residence on Miami Beach December 6. Mixed media contemporary artist John Cox created a scrolling art installation titled "This Is How Much I Love You" that began outside the house and went through the house, into the backyard, and into the pool.
Adriana Vargas from the Floral Shoppe and Things created the lush floral arrangements for the media company's event. Actress Zoe Saldana, who appears the cover of Ocean Drive magazine’s December issue, hosted, and Live It Productions produced the event.
At an afternoon event from MCM and Harper's Bazaar December 4 at Soho Beach House's Tiki Garden, cocktails were served with quirky paper glasses that guests could then wear. The offbeat visage was used in oversize form as a prop in photo booths and was printed on tote bags.
Music producer Rico Love celebrated his birthday with a dinner for 75 guests at Cafeina Wynwood Lounge followed by a gallery presentation of work by several street artists. Chef Amaris Jones's menu included shaved rib eye, chicken skewers, mini beef dogs, and crispy snapper with coconut rice, as well as Cajun-spiced poultry and sautéed garlic kale, mini sweet potato biscuits, white chocolate bread pudding, and spiced cheesecake desserts.
Ketel One vodka debuted "De Nolet"— a replica of the vodka brand's distillery in Amsterdam—at an event in Wynwood. Guests entered through a windmill.
Bar Lab created the cocktails using Ketel One. Guests ordered drinks by choosing a fresh herb from a selection arrayed in Mason jars and talking about flavors with the bartender.
Interview magazine and the gallery and retailer OHWOW hosted a cocktail party December 5 on the roof of the Boulan South Beach that included live performance artists.
The 12th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach attracted 75,000 people over five days to the Miami Beach Convention Center, a 7 percent increase from last year. Works shown included a toilet-paper pyramid by Martin Creed.
Works from artist Hebru Brantley were on display at the entrance and throughout the manse at 5 Star Island. The artist also donated an original piece to the Mourning Family Foundation earlier in the day at the Hublot Bal Harbour boutique.
At the poolside cocktail space, display cases that used holograms held Ferrari-inspired Hublot watches. A V.I.P. cabana with white drapes was roped off, while other guests opted to lounge on beds set with white linens and white Hublot logo pillows.
A Hublot helicopter transported V.I.P. guests to the Haute Living and Dom Pérignon-sponsored event. Guests could also arrive to the event via water taxi.
Flaunt magazine and Wildfox presented a three-day group show called "Affordable Care" at Mana Production Village in Wynwood. In one piece, artist Rob Montgomery created a sculptural poem from oak, then ignited the "Fire Poem" before an audience.
A neon sign fronted the DJ booth where Mark Ronson spun at a lunch for Issa London at Soho Beach House.
Soho Beach House catered the lunch for Issa London in an oceanfront tent.
Artist Ry Rocklen created Absolut's latest Art Bar installation, "Night Court,” which included a bar, bleachers, and ping-pong and chess tables made from trophy parts. The oceanfront venue hosted four nights of DJs and live music performances.
As the official sponsor of Art Basel worldwide, Audemars Piguet enlisted its New York-based creative agency MA3 Agency to commission a special piece of artwork and secure a unique site to showcase it. Swiss artist duo Kolkoz designed a floating Swiss chalet in front of the Miami Marine Stadium—a venue that hasn't been used in 20 years and was just green-lit for a complete renovation. Engineered in London, built in China, and flown to Miami in deflated form, the installation took between 70 and 80 people a week to build and drew more than 1,500 visitors in six days. Both water and electricity were brought to the facility, which was accessed via a more than 10,000-square-foot plywood dock that was covered in white AstroTurf to mimic snow from afar. Ecologically sound helical anchors complied with drilling regulations so as not to disturb the local ecosystem.
At a private dinner hosted by Heineken and Saveur magazine at Dolce, a suckling pig became a social media star. The courses were designed after artwork by Alexander Mijares, who attended the dinner and showed off a special work inspired by Heineken's green bottle and red star.
Bringing its Parisian sensibility to Miami for Art Basel, high-fashion boutique Colette partnered with local fashion store Alchemist for an "Art Drive-Thru" on the fifth level of the 1111 Lincoln Road parking deck. More than 60 products were offered—most as exclusives—from a bevy of brands, artists, and designers. Three on-brand Fiats were also on hand to shuttle customers from nearby hotels to the drive-through shopping concept.
Five roller girl "carhops" wearing custom Chrome Hearts skates offered full service to customers daily, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., via four menu kiosks. (There were two stations visitors could drive up to, one for those on foot, and one counter.) The installation took three weeks to build and was designed by Miami-based architect Rene Gonzalez.
Chandran Gallery and Juxtapoz magazine held a dinner hosted by the artist Shepard Fairey at Shore Club's private villa in Miami Beach Friday. The dinner was set up amid art installations, including a painted canoe that at least one guest paddled during the evening.
Designer Mark Cunningham created the AD Oasis, a lounge hosted by Architectural Digest at the James Royal Palm Hotel. The space hosted private events as well as provided a retreat for people attending Art Basel and Design Miami. Cunningham used natural tones as his foundation with shades of blue in several textiles. Ronen Rental provided event furniture used in the shop, the spa, and the check-in locations.
Guests could order coffee beverages using the TopBrewer device from Scanomat. Built into the tabletop, the gadget was controlled by a tablet device.
At a dinner for Univision held at Cafeina Wynwood Lounge, Shiraz Events created a playful vibe with mismatched furniture and floral pieces made from white and hot pink ranunculus set inside vases such as milk glass vessels, clear bottles, vintage crates, and old books.
The event furniture incorporated unexpected pieces such as an old card catalog dresser that contained place cards. Elsewhere in the outdoor garden, trunks and suitcases served as coffee and side tables.
Sculptures of the animated creatures from Takashi Murakami's new film Jellyfish Eyes stood around the pool deck at a dinner hosted by the Parisian boutique Sandro and Harper's Bazaar at Soho Beach House.
The place settings included chargers with one of Murakami's unmistakable prints.
At Grey Goose's "Fly Beyond" award dinner Friday at the Fusion MIA Fair, the vodka brand's bottles were incorporated into elaborate floral decor pieces. The Design Group of Miami created the displays.
Muralist Trek 6 created a tribute to former South African President Nelson Mandela at the Fusion MIA Fair in Wynwood. The piece stayed on-brand: It included the Grey Goose hashtag #FlyBeyond.
At a kickoff brunch for Art Basel, Harper's Bazaar invited guests to Soho Beach House to preview a pop-up of its ShopBazaar.com boutique. The decor extended to the pool, which sported the boutique's logo.
For the third year Soho Beach House erected an oceanfront tent to host events during Art Basel. Programming included DJ sets, live music, and a special grill menu.
Samsung Galaxy supplied a secure charging station for guests of events at the Soho Beach House tent.
In the House Gallery, guests could customize their cocktails with a garnish bar sponsored by Bombay Sapphire and presented on tablets from Samsung Galaxy.
Miami's own Trick Daddy closed out Art Basel on Sunday at Fool's Gold Day Off at Mana Production Village in Wynwood.
DuJour magazine kicked off Art Basel with an event December 4 at Delano Beach Club that included circus-freak-like performers.
Guests could create their own art on a digital graffiti wall at the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Finale Dinner at Soho Beach House.
At a reception inside the United Colors of Benetton's South Beach store, artist Trey Speegle styled live models in the clothing company's spring collection, then added his signature paint-by-numbers series to limbs, necks, and foreheads.
Thrillist co-hosted the Herradura Barrel Art Collection event, which honored artists who reimagined Herradura tequila barrels. The December 4 event at LMNT awarded $100,000 to the winning artist.
The New Art Dealers Alliance held its NADA contemporary art fair at Deauville Beach Resort in North Miami Beach. Guests relaxed on plush seating in the lounge.
