Art Basel Survival Kit: Red Bull and a 20-Year-Old Costume

The week you've been waiting for all year has finally arrived. Art Basel has hit our sandy shores, and there's no stopping till the sun goes down Sunday. As when you go into any good battle (or party), you need to go to Basel prepared. So we've put together a...

By Hannah Sentenac

December 3, 2012

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The week you've been waiting for all year has finally arrived. Art Basel has hit our sandy shores, and there's no stopping till the sun goes down Sunday.

As when you go into any good battle (or party), you need to go to Basel prepared. So we've put together a list of the essentials to pack in your Art Basel survival kit. Get to it.

Red Bulls. Plural. Or any other upper of choice (preferably legal). Because sleep isn't an option this week. Nourishment. Unless you want to shell out $20 for a cheese plate on Styrofoam, pack some sustenance. Granola bars, a six-pack of Ensure, hell, even bananas (worst-case scenario, you could strip naked and pose with them as art).

Cash. Even if you're hitting up all the free open-bar action, you're still bound to need some green. Be it a bribe to score some standing room next to your favorite celeb, money for some food-truck grub, or a tip for a particularly heavy-handed bartender, the cash will come in handy. This website. Impress the masses with your artspeak. The more obscure, convoluted, and nonsensical the better.

Your Halloween costume circa 1994. Chances are it'll qualify as performance art, and you might even score yourself a patron out of the deal. This is Basel, so the weirder the better. At least three cameras. When your smartphone dies, you need be armed with a backup to capture all the bizarre moments you couldn't possibly articulate to your friends without accompanying visuals.

Follow Hannah on Twitter @hannahalexs.

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