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Expanding horizons: with the Miami art world in the throes of rapid change, the author examines the impact of growth, spurred by the arrival of Art Basel, on public institutions, galleries and artists - Report From Miami
Art in America, Dec, 2003 by Roni Feinstein
Over the course of the past few months, as I was gathering information to write this updated profile of the Miami art scene, I received word that yet another pair of Miami collectors, Debra and Dennis Scholl, were transforming a warehouse into a public exhibition space for work from their personal collection. I then heard that Venezuelan philanthropist Ella Cisneros was refurbishing an old office building in South Miami in which to establish a nonprofit institution devoted to presenting ambitious contemporary art exhibitions and related public programs. On an almost daily basis, news arrives about the opening of new galleries and alternative spaces. Numerous Miami-based artists, whose work I have followed with interest for years as it gradually made its way into public view, have e-mailed to tell me of forthcoming exhibitions across the U.S. and Europe. The Miami art scene is, quite simply, on fire. The city's collectors, museum directors, curators, art dealers, artists and even art students feel they have the world at their fingertips, and, in a sense, they do. Art Basel has come to town.
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Art Basel, which originated in Switzerland 34 years ago, had planned its inaugural presentation on American soil for December 2001. In accord with the Swiss model, the new fair was not conceived as an isolated entity confined within the Miami Beach Convention Center, but as a citywide event, encompassing museums, galleries and Miami's many private collections, with special activities planned involving fashion, music, film, architecture and design. Although the terrorist attacks of 9/11 caused the postponement of Art Basel Miami Beach until the following year, many of the scheduled exhibitions and events went forward in December 2001 and drew surprisingly large audiences, comprising art-interested locals and numerous visitors (including the Art Basel organizers) who decided not to cancel their trips. The Miami art community put on an impressive show, generating a widespread buzz which owed much to the city's arts infrastructure as well as to its unique mix of Latin, Caribbean and Anglo culture. In December 2002, Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) drew some 30,000 visitors from across the nation and around the world.
The purpose of this article is to examine the changes and developments that have taken place in the Miami art world since the late '90s, when my previous profile appeared [see A.i.A., May and Nov. '99]. It opens with a brief sketch of ABMB 2002 and other Miami-based art fairs to convey a sense of their makeup, and to indicate the extent of involvement of Miami dealers and artists. The second section will focus on the city's art museums. The third will explore the impact on local contemporary art culture of several Miami collectors who have assumed highly public roles. Next comes an account of the art initiatives of real estate developer and collector Craig Robins, as well as of other landlords and developers following his lead, in the Miami Design District and the larger Wynwood area directly to the south (the boundary is Interstate 195). Today, these districts together form the city's most vital gallery and exhibition center. The fifth section discusses significant alternative spaces mid art schools. The sixth and final section is an overview of the commercial galleries that focus on contemporary art. The work of individual Miami artists is considered throughout the article in relation to the institutions or exhibitions that have displayed their art.
The Art Fairs
Art Basel Miami Beach is not the city's first such event: the Art Miami fair has been taking place in the Miami Beach Convention Center every January since 1990. Produced by Advanstar Communications, which is based in Chicago, Art Miami is more conservative in the art it shows and lower in its price range than Art Basel. It is geared to the South Florida and Latin American communities, rather than to a broader international one, with about 25 percent of the participants from Latin America. According to Ilana Vardy, director of the fair, 2003 attendance was about the same as that of past years, but the fair had "an off year" in terms of sales. To boost revenues, a number of lower echelon galleries were included, site said, which drew bad press that may have kept some collectors away. Art Miami 2004 will be a smaller, higher-quality fair, with 120 galleries (as opposed to 165 the year before) chosen by a newly formed selection committee. Vardy maintains that Art Basel is not Art Miami's main competition with regard to attracting exhibitors, but rather, the Palm Beach art fair, which targets a similar clientele and takes place at almost exactly the same time. (Art Miami opens Jan. 7, 2004; Palm Beach Contemporary opens Jan. 8.)
Art Miami has frequently incorporated special sections showcasing work by more progressive artists, and will do so in '04 in a series of project spaces integrated into the fair and in a "Currents" section, installed in an adjoining area of the convention center, dubbed "35 under 35" (35 galleries showing artists under 35). In "Currents 03: New Perspectives," seen last January, 40 galleries from 15 countries presented work by young and emerging artists; while uneven, the selection contained some impressive work. The younger galleries occupy small booths at discounted rates.
