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While Art Basel is undoubtedly the cornerstone of Miami Art Week today, the all-encompassing list of fairs and events that extend beyond the convention center's walls make up much of what tends to be considered “Art Basel.” The overlapping terms of the Miami art scene in December can get confusing; similar phrases used interchangeably (and inaccurately) only add to the chaos. Miami Art Week includes Art Basel and features countless exhibitions, many free to the public, parties, often ticketed or invite-only, and more than 20 satellite art fairs, including the city’s original contemporary art fair: Art Miami. Distinguishing between these things may seem trivial, snobbish, or even impossible, but it matters for the history of Miami. There’s a common misconception that, as a European satellite fair, “Art” (the original name for Art Basel pre-expansion) came to a dilapidated Miami and turned it into the vibrant contemporary art hub it is today. Of course, the fair’s presence has helped the city thrive and fueled the growth of Art Week but giving Art Basel all of the credit for Miami’s art scene rewrites history – an American Art Basel wouldn’t work this well anywhere else. Art Miami was already well-established as a serious contemporary art fair in a cosmopolitan city known for its lively events and iconic parties. Much of what attracts people to Art Basel Miami Beach is a product of local institutions and natural surroundings.

Still from Amina Agueznay’s solo show, Fieldworks (2024). Photo courtesy of .

The week’s smallest fair, Design Miami, is a nod to the incredible Design District across the bay, exploring the intersection of form and function. Like the Design District, this fair is known for its visual beauty and luxury brand activation events. From rare historical pieces to contemporary creations, collectible design is one of Miami’s key contributions to art and architecture – a stunning legacy best seen in the Art Deco Historic District in South Beach. A walk along this beach will take you to Untitled Art, a contemporary fair that’s less popular than Art Basel and Art Miami but still draws a large audience (and this year, 170 exhibitors) to the sands of Miami Beach. This year’s curatorial theme was “East Meets West,” offering a platform to underrepresented voices in the discourse of Western high art. Curators Kathy Huang and Jungmin Cho challenged the orientalist notions of “East” and “West” by finding connections between different cultures. Artists and galleries from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe participated in this unique and necessary cross-cultural exchange. This was a big year for fiber artworks across all fairs, most of which were thoroughly underwhelming, but Untitled housed some of the most memorable. The most meaningful included wool work from Moroccan artist Amina agueznay, whose pieces addressed gendered traditions and the country’s relationship with colonial France.

The Great Elephant Migration, made by 200 Indigenous Indian artisans from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Tamil Nadu using metal and Latana camara. Photo courtesy of Alexia Fodere for .

Miami’s beaches are a desirable backdrop for any exhibition due to their pristine beauty and accessibility to the public. Near the 34^th Street Lifeguard Tower were multiple installations that wouldn’t have made sense in another setting. The most popular was The Great Elephant Migration, a display of 100 life-size elephants, categorized as calves, adolescents, matriarchs, and tuskers, which are all individually for sale, supporting NGOs worldwide. Crafted by Indigenous Indian artisans from The Real Elephant Collective, each sculpture is based on elephants that live alongside them. Built using metal and an invasive weed called Lantana camara, the exhibition is a story of coexistence with a message of conservation on multiple levels. Elephants and humans have always lived alongside one another, but with constant urbanization, the elephant habitat loss has resulted in a dwindling population. These heavy sculptures have been making their way around the world, an impressive feat given the number, size, and most importantly, weight of the elephants, appearing in Bangalore, London, New York City, and Newport (RI). Nearby is another installation with a heartfelt mission: The Miami Reef Star, by Carlos Betancourt and Alberto Latorre. Despite its singular title, the series of stars will become part of a multi-phase underwater installation called The ReefLine, a seven-mile sculpture park that will support marine habitats and serve as a carbon sink, thanks to an inventive concrete blend that accelerates coral reef regeneration.

Close-up of individual Miami Reef Star (left). Photo courtesy of Maya Garabedian. Airplane window view of Miami Reef Star Phase 2, from artist Carlos betancourt and architect Alberto Latorre. Photo courtesy of .

Further down the way, next to the Faena Hotel, was a popular spot for locals and visitors alike, especially with the music and drinks each night. The sails of a Spanish galleon adorned with Spanish writing billow in the wind – fitting, considering it’s not uncommon to hear more Spanish than English when you’re out in Miami. Artist Nicholas Galanin is a Tlingit and Unangax虃 from Sitka, Alaska, and was raised in a native community that upheld traditional craftsmanship like wood-carving and jewelry-making. His shipwreck piece, Seletega (run, see if people are coming/corre a ver si viene gente), serves as a critical reminder, amidst the capitalist culture of Art Week, that the Western intent to extract the wealth of a place is directly linked to colonization and by extension, oppression. Searching for ways to maintain Indigenous visibility and sovereignty is a complex task, but Galanin is well-versed in history and uses his work to remind viewers of the past. His piece alludes to Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, who ordered that his ships be sunk after he arrived in Mexico. Even at night, the massive shipwreck scene is impossible to ignore as the sails are illuminated, asserting its presence in public and standing in the way of those who want to divorce capitalism from colonialism. This is a bold and honorable choice for Faena, whose financial success largely depends on the purchasing power of others.

Night view of Nicholas Galanin’s Seletega. Photo courtesy of Maya Garabedian.

Many of Art Week’s standout moments and events were put on by Faena Art, a group whose hotel features a gallery, a team who commissions works like Galanin’s, and who is responsible for, among plenty of other wonderful things, Marina 础产谤补尘辞惫颈膰’s room of private musings based on her new book: Nomadic Journey and Spirit of Places. The free event was a collaboration between 础产谤补尘辞惫颈膰 and renowned Spanish retailer Massimo Dutti, with exclusive merchandise in a small room next door featuring prints of her work. For fans of 础产谤补尘辞惫颈膰, like myself, this was an intimate first look behind the curtain of her creative practice.

Marina 础产谤补尘辞惫颈膰 installation in the Faena Project Room, framed hotel stationery, suspended Faena commission, with adjoining projection room playing a promotional video for her book, Nomadic Journey and Spirit of Places. Photos by Maya Garabedian.

Pages of 础产谤补尘辞惫颈膰’s book – writings, sketches, photographs on hotel stationery from around the world – were framed and hung in a linear gallery wall format. The memorabilia from four decades of creative practice is chaotic, with some pages toeing the line between wild and violent. But the precise layout of works in the clinically white Faena Project Room, each series of frames equidistant and forming a perfect rectangle or line, offers some order in a room full of frenzied scribbles and illegible all-caps handwriting. This balancing act parallels her practice, where she manages to bring an undertone of discipline and control to even the most open-ended performances. In the center of the room was a hanging glass box that featured some sketches and trinkets made special for Faena, honoring the Miami powerhouse that makes space for monumental firsts. Next year, you can expect to find me properly exploring all the Faena has to offer.

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