Launch of Art Basel Miami Beach victim of 9/11 - Artworld - Brief Article

Art in America, Dec, 2001 by Stephanie Cash, David Ebony

On Nov. 2, art-world observers were taken aback when organizers of Art Basel Miami Beach canceled the fair's much-anticipated Dec. 13 debut. The inaugural event was rescheduled for Dec. 5-8, 2002. The 2001 fair was to have included 150 prominent international galleries as well as representatives from over 50 art journals and cultural institutions. Swiss Exhibition, the company in charge of organizing the fair, announced that the cancellation cost the firm around $4 million. In a press statement, organizers indicated that their decision was caused by uncertainties resulting from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, subsequent cases of anthrax contamination, and the military conflict now taking place between U.S. and Taliban forces. Also cited were insurance problems related to overseas shipments of high-end art works.

Sara FitzMaurice, U.S. spokesperson for Art Basel Miami Beach, said that the organizers did not want to risk the possibility that the fair's inaugural event would be anything less than a total success. Whether coincidently or not, the cancellation followed on the heels of Congress's failure to pass a comprehensive airport and airplane security bill, and was spurred by the U.S. State Department's recurrent warnings of possible future attacks. There was also art-world speculation that fair organizers were reacting to the number of key European collectors who had decided not to attend.

Meanwhile, a forthcoming fair, the long-established Art Miami, is on track for Jan. 4-8, 2002. Fair director Ilana Vardy told A.i.A. that she was shocked by the cancellation of Art Basel Miami Beach, but the decision will not negatively impact her fair. "Art Miami is more local, primarily comprising U.S. and Latin American participants," she observed. "In the wake of the Sept. 11 disaster, a couple of galleries have pulled out due to financial concerns, but everything else is in place."