Art Basel Miami Beach, held at the Miami Beach Convention Center from December 7 to 10, and Miami Art Week, which included a roster of satellite fairs surrounding the major tentpole art event, featured a few notable venue changes and bigger-than-ever crowds.
Despite the convention center’s ongoing renovation construction and heavy traffic, Art Basel Miami Beach’s 16th edition brought in 82,000 visitors this year, compared to about 77,000 last year.
Meanwhile, satellite fairs Art Miami and Context Art Miami relocated to downtown Miami, a major uprooting from their previous midtown location, which is currently undergoing residential development and is just steps from the Wynwood and Design District neighborhoods. NADA Miami Art Fair, held at the Deauville hotel in Miami Beach since 2009, also moved inland this year, relocating to the Ice Palace Studios—yet another sign of the shift towards the city’s urban core.
Downtown Miami also hosted Mana Contemporary’s activations, which transformed empty storefronts like the landmark 777 Mall and Flagler Station into installations, fairs, and residencies. Mana’s schedule included the Prizm Art Fair, which centered around the African diaspora; Focus on Puerto Rico, an artists residency; Booktanica Jai-Alai, a pop-up bookstore; and Flatland, a group exhibition from 18 artists who explored new technologies. The latter exemplified a growing presence of virtual reality, new media, and projection mapping during Miami Art Week.
Click through the slide show to see more of Miami Art Week’s notable events and exhibitions.