An Insider’s Guide to Maneuvering Miami Art Week

Starting as early as the first Sunday in December, Miami transforms itself into a diverse artistic landscape. Miami Art Week (the official name, though some call it Miami Basel) is a veritable show-and-tell of the global art world. Since its debut in 2002, it has evolved from a regional art fair into an international spectacle, attracting nearly 100,000 visitors each year. To some, it’s a week of see-and-be-seen parties, to others, it’s a week of dynamic commerce and collaboration, but for all art lovers and novices alike, it’s an opportunity for inspiration and discovery.

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Miami Art Week offers an extraordinary range of experiences. Whether you start with the famous Art Basel fair, peppered with blue-chip galleries, run over to one of the many satellite fairs to discover a new up-and-coming artist, or dance the night away at any one of the fabulous brand activations, just remember that this week is a marathon, not a sprint.

Art Week can be intimidating and exhausting, but I’ve learned a thing or two over the last decade. My approach or experiences may not be one size fits all, but I’d like to share my intel nonetheless! As an art lover and founder of the non-profit arts organization Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation, this is my go-to guide for one of the art world’s most recognized weeks.

Art Basel Miami Beach, the largest fair in the Art Week ecosystem, is so vast that the week’s festivities are often simply referred to as “Art Basel.” Held at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the fair features works by Modern, Postwar and Contemporary artists. It also hosts curated conversations with artists and industry leaders as well as showcasing 17 large-scale installations.

Skarstedt Gallery has always been a top contender for me, which can be found at booth H10 this year. With locations in New York, Paris and London, Skarstedt is a blue-chip gallery, but also represents some of the most innovative artists coming up in the industry. This year the gallery has put a spotlight on artist Yuan Fang, with a dynamic triptych titled “Three Moves.” Reflecting her signature gestural abstractions, the energy of each stroke is abundantly present. The oil paint dances across each canvas as if in a frenzy of endless conversation, a painting not to be missed.

In the Meridians section of the fair, you can find the work of Uruguayan-born multimedia artist, Guillermo Garcia-Cruz, represented by Piero Atchugarry Gallery. “Pillar III” will be a monumental sculpture exploring technology’s preponderance in........

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