For its first in-person edition since 2019, Art Basel Miami Beach will bring 254 exhibitors—roughly the same amount of galleries as in pre-pandemic years. The fair will return to its traditional home of the Miami Beach Convention Center, and run from December 2–4, with two preview days on November 30 and December 1.
Bringing together galleries from 36 countries, this iteration of the fair includes 43 first-time participants, including First Floor Gallery Harare from Zimbabwe, London’s Southard Reid, Guatemala City’s Proyectos Ultravioleta, Toronto’s Daniel Faria Gallery, Mexico City’s Pequod Co., and Nicola Vassell and Housing, both of New York.
Like many other fairs, Art Basel Miami Beach has been forced to remain flexible, and the fair will stage some online offerings amid the continued threat of the contagious Delta variant. Art Basel will once again stage an accompanying digital version under the banner of Art Basel Live. The fair has also allowed for seven joint booths across the fair, while Edinburgh’s Ingleby Gallery will have a satellite booth managed by local representatives.
The fair is divided into five sections: Galleries (the main section), Positions (solo presentations for emerging artists), Nova (for new work), and Survey (for art created before 2000), and Editions (for work on paper and multiples). Details for the fair’s other components will be announced at a later date. Lockdown forced the cancelation of most major art fairs in 2020 and early 2021. In May, Frieze New York and Art Basel Hong Kong both staged editions, while last month, the Armory Show in New York and Art Basel in Switzerland took place.
Frieze Los Angeles said it would return in 2022, and Expo Chicago ultimately made that same call over the summer. Planning for Art Basel Miami Beach was complicated by the departure of Noah Horowtiz, the fair’s Director Americas for six years, in July, just five months before the fair was to open. Horowitz went on to join Sotheby’s as worldwide head of gallery and private dealer services in September.