Can you hear that? It’s the sound of gassed-up jet planes whizzing their way across the globe, depositing the art world’s best, brightest and most enthusiastic participants on the Florida shores for 2021’s Art Basel Miami, perhaps the most popularly-attended prestige art fair in the world. There’s a lot to look forward to in terms of this year’s iteration of the fair: in 2020, of course, the multifaceted event was called off altogether amidst financial struggles and the ravaging effects of the pandemic, but this year, the advent of NFTs and the open-armed welcoming of the crypto community promises to generate a huge amount of novelty in a space that’s already constantly churning towards the new.
Although, this year, its reported that there will be zero major changes to the fundamental format of the fair, 42 galleries will be presenting at Art Basel Miami for the first time. Additionally, the galleries Galerie Lelong & Co., Mitchell-Innes & Nash and Goodman Gallery will be opening pop-up spaces in the Design District of Miami in addition to managing their traditional main floor booths.
When it comes to catching up with the enormous sea changes that’ve taken place within the art world even in the past few months, programs being hosted by 19th edition of NADA Miami are unmissable. On December 2, Artists Rights Society Vice President Katarina Feder, the collector Adam Lindemann and artists Nancy Baker Cahill and Tiona Nekkia McClodden will be exhaustively running through everything creatives will need to know about non-fungible tokens going forward. NADA is also hosting a talk with David Zwirner gallerist and curator Ebony L. Haynes that should be good.
Breonna’s Garden, an interactive experience installed at the Maurice A. Ferré Park next to the Perez Art Museum, is the result of a collaboration between the artist Lady PheOnix and the FilmGate Interactive Media Festival. Created via AR, Breonna’s Garden will be dotted with flowers and butterflies, which were some of Taylor’s favorite things. Additionally, a 3D sculpture version of an NFT artwork entitled WAVEFORM, made by the musical artist 3LAU, will be on display at Art Basel’s “The Gateway” on December 3. Overall, though? “I think Miami is going to be crazy,” collector Peter Kahng told the New York Times.
