Art Basel Miami Beach 2009: The Eighth Edition of America’s Most Prestigious Art Show, Featuring Totally New Exhibition Design and the Launch of the Oceanfront Area

From December 3 through 6, 2009, Miami Beach, Florida, will be home to the 8th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, the international art show. More than 250 leading galleries from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa will take part. Chosen by renowned galleries of the Art Basel Miami Beach Selection Committee, the galleries will show works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Special sectors are devoted to very recent artworks, curated exhibits, performance, and art in public spaces.

This year, the layout of Art Basel Miami Beach will be extensively redesigned, including larger spaces for many galleries, and an innovative floorplan to maximize the visitor experience inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. The Art Positions sector, focused on special projects by young artists and galleries, formerly situated at Collins Park, will now be sited in the center of the Miami Beach Convention Center. Art Galleries, the main section of the show, will again feature the Art Kabinett program, which spotlights curated presentations in the selected gallery’s booth, while Art Nova will present new works by more than 170 artists.

The totally new Oceanfront exhibition environment will be created by Los Angeles artist Pae White commissioned by Creative Time, the legendary New York-based public art organization, and host a daily program including the Art Basel Conversations, Art Perform, Art Video and Art Film. Presented in the public spaces between and around the Oceanfront and the Miami Beach Convention Center, this year’s Art Projects will connect the two main areas of the show.

Occurring annually since its launch in 2002, Art Basel Miami Beach 2009 will run from December 3 through December 6, 2009, with a VIP opening on December 2. Galleries selected from 33 countries will be showcasing paintings, drawings, sculptures, installa- tions, photography, editions, and videos. The show’s list of participants makes Art Basel Miami Beach the most prestigious art show of the Americas, featuring highly established galleries and the most dynamic newcomers. (The full list of exhibitors can be found at www.artbasel.com/sections). Prices range from a few hundred dollars for multiples and works by young artists, to several million for museum-quality masterpieces.

On the eve of the opening, prominent guests from around the world will attend the exclu- sive Vernissage. Many major US museums are organizing trips to Florida, and numerous groups of art collectors from Latin America and Europe have already announced their vis-its. During the show’s five-day run, more than 40,000 art lovers are expected to visit the international art show.

The redesign of Art Basel Miami Beach At the center of the Miami Beach Convention Center visitors will discover an area housing the Art Salon talks program, Art Magazines, Art Institutions and two restaurants. This central area will be surrounded by the Art Positions booths, while Art Nova will extend along a concentrated row at the south end of the halls. This new layout will improve visitor navigation and orientation within the halls, allowing more room for amenities such as restaurants and resting places, further enhancing Art Basel Miami Beach’s ability to be the best platform for its galleries. Furthermore, the Art Collectors Lounge will be significantly redesigned and enlarged, now including a restaurant with seated dining, plus lounges by our main sponsor, UBS, and the associate sponsors Cartier, NetJets and AXA Art.

Art Galleries: sector The Selection Committee – comprised of 12 renowned international gallerists – has picked more than 180 galleries for this year’s show. About half of the exhibitors come from out- side the United States, with strong participation from Europe and Latin America, plus 11 galleries from Asia and two from Africa.

Art Kabinett: sector Art Kabinett gives the 25 galleries participating in the Art Galleries sector an opportunity to present small curated exhibitions, in a separately delineated space within the gallery’s booth. The exhibition concepts for Art Kabinett are diverse, including thematic group exhibitions, art-historical solo shows and showcases for rising stars.

Art Nova: sector In this year’s Art Nova sector, more than 60 emerging and established galleries from 24 countries are presenting new works, by a maximum of three artists. Recent pieces by more than 170 artists will be on display, providing visitors an opportunity for discovering pieces fresh from studios around the globe – and making the sector an ideal place to spot the newest tendencies in artistic production.

Art Positions: sector Formerly located at Collins Park, Art Positions will now be situated in the center of the exhibition halls surrounding the central cube. The sector presents 23 young galleries from 9 different countries, showcasing cutting-edge projects by single artists or conceptual group shows.

The Oceanfront: The Oceanfront area, formerly home to Art Positions, has been created as a platform for Art Basel Miami Beach’s supplemental cultural activities. Situated directly on the beach, in the city where Latin America meets North America, the Oceanfront marks the point where the artworld interfaces with the broader public. We are delighted to have Creative Time, the legendary New York City-based public art organization, as a partner in the launching of this new dimension of Art Basel Miami Beach. Creative Time curator Meredith Johnson commissioned Los Angeles artist Pae White to design the central element of this space, and commission an artist DJ to provide music for this site of public interaction.

Free of any admission charge, the Oceanfront offers visitors many opportunities. In the mornings, they can attend the discussion panels of the Art Basel Conversations series, featuring prominent figures from every artworld domain. And every night during Art Basel Miami Beach, it will feature a special art event. The series of events will be inaugurated by the annual Art Loves Music concert on the beach, followed by the Art Perform program curated by Jens Hoffmann of the Wattis Institute; the Art Video program curated by Creative Time and the Art Film evening curated by This Brunner. Rounding out the experi- ence, the Oceanfront Cafe will offer visitors the possibility to have light meals and refresh- ing drinks.

Art Projects: Art Projects, this year curated for the first time by Patrick Charpenel of Guadalajara, Mexico, features projects by internationally renowned artists, selected from proposals by the galleries of Art Basel Miami Beach and installed in the outdoor public spaces of Miami Beach, within close proximity to Oceanfront area and the Miami Beach Convention Center. These works engage directly with the spectator, interrupting the daily routine of passersby in poetic, and surprising ways.

Art Perform: Based at the Oceanfront, Art Perform now features an intensified program of longer per- formances by rising international artists. As in former years, this program will be conceived by curator Jens Hoffmann, director of the CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco. It will take place on Thursday and Saturday at 9 pm during the show.

Art Video: Art Video is a video program curated by Creative Time including discussions with artists and curators active in the field. The program will take place on Thursday and Saturday from 7 – 8.30 pm during the show.

Art Film: Art Film is an evening devoted to a single film with strong artworld connections, curated by Zurich film connaisseur This Brunner, followed by a panel with a selection of participants. Art Film takes place on Friday at 8.30 pm.

Art Basel Conversations: Now located at the Oceanfront, Art Basel Conversations offers audiences access to first-hand information on important aspects of the international artworld. This year’s topics include “Museum Directors: Change in Generation”, “Art Collections in Latin America” and “The Future of the Museum: The Portable Museum”. Distinguished artists, art collectors, museum directors, curators, critics, gallerists, publishers, and others active in the cultural sphere take part. There is also time allotted after each Art Basel Conversation for the audience to engage with the panel in a more informal fashion.

Art Salon: Situated in the central area of the Miami Beach Convention Center, Art Salon is a platform for discussion by artworld figures presenting their projects, with an emphasis on the most current themes in contemporary art. Informal in format but international in scope, it also features book launches, artist talks, roundtable discussions, and lectures.

Museums and Private Collections: Once again, Miami’s leading private collections – among them the Margulies Collection, the Rubell Family Collection, CIFO the private collection of Ella Cisneros, the de la Cruz Collection, the Mora Collection, the Scholl Collection, and the Robins Collection amongst others – will be opening their homes and warehouses to guests of the international art show. The museums of South Florida, too, will be staging important exhibitions to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach, including exhibitions presenting Guillermo Kuitca at the Miami Art Museum, “Art from the Jumex Collection” at the Bass Museum, William Kentridge at the Norton Museum, George Segal at the Margulies Collection, and Raymond Pettibon and Sylvie Fleury at World Class Boxing.

Sponsors and Partners Art Basel Miami Beach enjoys the support of many partners, with UBS holding the premier position as our Main Sponsor. At the Associate Sponsor level, Cartier, NetJets and AXA Art Insurance continue their significant partnership with Art Basel Miami Beach.

Design Miami: This year marks the fifth edition of Design Miami, from December 1 to 5, with the world’s most prominent design galleries presenting contemporary and historic work. Design Miami’s award-winning Temporary Structure returns with an innovative, new façade designed by architects Aranda\Lasch. Located in the vibrant Miami Design District, the structure will transform a coconut palm lot into a cutting-edge exhibition space for limited- edition design www.designmiami.com.

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