Art Basel’s official 2016 festivities begin December 1st-4th at the usual anchor, the Miami Beach Convention Center, where after last year’s steamy, soggy mess, prayers for drier revelry reverberate. Fela Kuti once sang “Water No Get Enemy,” but if you momentarily indulge me, too much water in dis here tropic be causin’ plenty problem these day, me think. There was too much humidity to handle walking, bicycle travel was dangerously impossible, and roadway arteries clogged like someone who had eaten too many chivitos. This in turn inspired Uber drivers unfamiliar with Miami to forego any sleep in order to make some silly, easy money. Me wanna firget las’ year’s big puddle and dem uder King Tide problem we havin’.
This year, suddenly, there exists an inherent artistic dilemma for truly contemporary artists; how will we respond to a post Obama/Clinton creative landscape? How will the Arts and their markets respond to perceptions that East Coast, West Coast, Miami, the Northeast, and most urban centers have been rendered politically insignificant? Will the United States of America’s privileged progressives thrive now that they have been estranged from power and influence? Certainly this Art Basel was curated long before the transfer of power manifested, but what will be the mood? Does this signal a demotion for the Arts or simply a detention? Will the purge affect the artmood? How real is this crisis? Will there be some struggles?
Riding my bicycle down Indian Creek recently, I caught a glimpse of a teaser from the Faena. It had big conceptual ideas on it, created by Ximena Caminos, the Artistic Director and Chair of Faena Art. Ms. Caminos has curated a wildly encompassing experience at Miami Beach’s Faena Hotel and environs running from November 27 through December 4th, just in time for Art Basel to kick in, but strangely missing from satellite, Art Basel advances. Her ingenious, independent effort should lure lovers of sundry expressive endeavors to check in and out. Philosophically, Ms. Caminos is in: “Art institutions in the 21st century should be catalysts that act as bridges between the local and the global. FAENA FORUM is a polyphonic space for culture. Connecting popular and experimental practices, the Forum is democratic in scope and enriches our global dialogue — a physical and intellectual space that houses a new kind of cultural manifestation.” Among the many winsome commissions will be Time Capsule, a colorful geodesic dome erected on the beach by Juan Gatti.
Aside from Basel itself at the pre-renovated Convention Center, 21 satellite fairs beckon along with a thousand sundry peripheral events. Most are on the Beach, but downtown, Wynwood, Midtown, Little Haiti/Lemon City, and Little River will be busy festifying. Scope and UNTITLED hold down the literal Sobe 8th through 12th beach corridor and begin welcoming the public on Wednesday November 30th. Pulse is at 46th and Collins, and Miami Project and NADA have gone north toward the Deauville at 67th. Lots of smaller venues take place on Collins between 10 and 20th. PINTA, great in 2015, will again be held in MANA Wynwood. Midtown staple Art Miami continues to rival Art Basel in both influence and in sheer number of visitors. Somehow, crowded Midtown intimidates less than a crowded Convention Center. Lil’ Sisters CONTEXT and Aqua add to ART MIAMI’s allure. PRIZM features emergent local talent in Little River. For all who cannot get started early enough and love dogs, Fridge Art Fair will run for a week at the beautiful Betsy Hotel. Finally, if you are visiting and can’t make it to the crass Design District or the Festival Flea Market in Pompano Beach, visit Design Miami to see a Louis Vuitton installation.
Countless parties, constant music, and myriad shots for the opportunistic sales hustler will also bless those philistines whose primary interest in Art Basel does not include genuine interest in art, crafts, painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, philosophy, literature, music, history, poetry, film, or theater. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.
