During Miami Art Week, you don't have to spend a lot of money to see art. You simply have to step outside. Here's our guide to the free-to-see, public art around town during Art Basel this year.
Audemars Piguet and Tomás Saraceno: Albedo. Swiss watch company Audemars Piguet and Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno are joining forces to comment on sustainability in air travel and to explore, through art, the possibility of ethical and thus fossil fuel-free, flying. Saraceno created this work, titled Albedo, with environmentally conscious, interdisciplinary artistic endeavor Aerocene. Expect a large-scale, beachside installation that harnesses the power of the sun by using 40 reflective umbrellas turned inside out to make a huge sundial. Solar power gathered from this sculpture will be used to fly Aerocene’s iconic aerosolar sculpture. Visitors can try out that company's backpacks to literally fly on Miami Beach. December 5-9 across from Collins Park on 21st St. and Collins Ave., Miami Beach; artbasel.com.
Dozie Kanu: Bird Feeders and Play Structures. Miami Art Week isn't all about the grownups. Kids can get a taste of fine art in the process thanks to the Miami Design District’s Holiday Commission of Bird Feeders and Play Structures by 24-year-old artist Dozie Kanu. The works are spread throughout the District and are made from recycled metal. The project is a collaboration with Raise The Caliber® initiative that aims to get guns off the street and recycles gunmetal and bullets. This includes actual jungle gym structures and bird feeders inspired by Kanu's childhood. Even though Kanu is young, the Houston native has gained many high powered admirers and won the Hublot Design Prize. Through January 2, throughout the Design District; miamidesigndistrict.net.
Design Miami, Pedro Reyes and Carla Fernández: Unite. Each year, the most fashionable and sleek Art Basel Miami Beach fair, Design Miami, takes on a wild architectural stunt. This year, you'll see Unite by Design Miami/Visionary Award Winners Pedro Reyes and Carla Fernández at its entrance. The installation will include two anthropomorphic pylons and a container. The message is about solidarity in divisive times, but the container includes information on the humanitarian atrocities going down at our southern border and here in South Florida at ICE detention centers. It's an anti-racist message, so solidarity is with the people, not with those abusive figures in power. An adjoining "pop-up fashion capsule" designed by Fernández, supported by Levi's will donate proceeds to Immigrant Families Together and indigenous people of Mexico. So, bring your eyes, hearts, and wallets. December 5–9 at Meridian Avenue and 19th St., Miami Beach; designmiami.com. Viewing Unite is free; tickets to Design Miami cost $27 online and $32 onsite.
EXPANDICA Miami and Adler Guerrier. On the InterContinental Miami hotel’s 200-foot-tall LED display, you'll typically spy a giant silhouette of a woman dancing. This year, ICA Miami has teamed up with Miami's own Adler Guerrier to give this digital display a makeover. The artist will use shapes, colors, and symbols based on fonts to create We Speak of Forms to Hold and of Conditions for Being. The text draws from his 2018 solo exhibition at California African American Museum. He says it's a big, bright cry for help for all. "By weaving the work into the skyline of my hometown, Miami, I intend to express a humanistic claim for nurturing needs, both loudly and publicly. My hope is that this installation contributes to the reshaping this urban landscape, through an engagement with the language displayed on the billboard against the backdrop of the city." Through December 9 beginning at sundown at InterContinental Miami, 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami; icamiami.org.
The Urban: “Welcome to the Afrofuture.” Though it's adjacent to Wynwood, Overtown often gets ignored each Miami Art Week. But Urban Philanthropies has come to change all of that. The org helps transform blighted communities like Overtown through economic and community development activities that make life that much more enjoyable for those who live there. Its project known simply as The Urban is exhibiting “Welcome to the Afrofuture," a four day art and performance extravaganza. It's curated by New Orleans-based author and leader Gia Hamilton and draws from talents around the city and country to celebrate the Afrofuture with art and music by Papa Keith, Africoco, SocialXChange Miami, King Britt, Rich Medina, and others. 4 p.m., Thursday, December 6 to Saturday December 7 at 1000 NW Second Ave., Miami; theurban.miami.
Red Bull with Josh Zubkoff and Srikanth Guttikonda. Nostalgia is super big right now. That's why the Red Bull-sponsored, PAC-MAN-inspired climbable, 30-foot tall rainbow bridge at HIVE in Wynwood will appeal to the kid in us all. It's the work of artists Josh Zubkoff and Srikanth Guttikonda, cofounders of San Francisco's Looking Up Arts Foundation. Read messages from visitors on the bridge's LED screen while you sip on a Red Bull PAC-MAN energy drink and dance to '80s tunes. December 6, Hive Wynwood, 2250 NW Second Ave., Miami; redbull.com.
Art Basel and the Kitchen with Abraham Cruzvillegas. Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas makes magic out of trash. Art Basel Miami Beach is partnering with curator Philipp Kaiser and one of the Big Apple's historic nonprofit art spaces, the Kitchen, to present the artist's vision with Autorreconstrucción: To Insist, to Insist, to Insist... He will use found objects acquired in the area and performance, dance, and music with the help of choreographer and co-author Bárbara Foulkes to comment on the innovation of world's poorest city dwellers. It's free for the public at the Miami Beach Convention Center's Grand Ballroom. December 6-9 at Grand Ballroom at the Miami Beach Convention Center, 1901 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach; artbasel.com.
EXPANDFaena Festival: "This Is Not America." When you think of Faena, you think of hotels in Miami Beach and Buenos Aires featuring luxury sprinkled with artwork by the industry's heavy-hitters. The company is taking their artistic endeavors to the next level with the inaugural Faena Festival. "This Is Not America" is a theme that features commissions, installations, videos, and performances by some of art's big names. The work by artists such as Cecilia Bengolea, Joseph Beuys, Alfredo Jaar, and Miami's Agustina Woodgate will comment on the the Magic City's role as a port for migrants, refugees, and tourists. Founder Alan Faena says, "Artists are not limited by geopolitical divides, so in this inaugural edition, we’ve decided to explore diverse interpretations of the Americas, what unifies and ultimately connects us." Monday, December 3, through Sunday, December 9, at Faena Beach, 3201 Collins Ave, Miami Beach; faenafestival.com.
Fringe Projects' Bodega Series with Tschabalala Self: Lee's Oriental Market. As part of Miami's Fringe Projects' Bodega Series, Tschabalala Self has created Lee's Oriental Market, an installation inside an actual minimart, Lee’s Deli & Market. The focal part of the work is a neon sign that reads, "Lucky Me!" The artist is co-presenting a night of DJs and performers as part of Hudson, New York's Free Range multidisciplinary project. The hip event will be headlined by multidisciplinary artist RaFiA Santana and DJs Loka and Fulathela in the Design District. 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. through March 2019 at Lee's Deli & Market, 28 SE First Ave., Miami; and 9 p.m., Friday, December 7, at 777 International Mall, Mana Contemporary Miami,145 E. Flagler St., Miami; fringeprojectsmiami.com.
Little Haiti Mural Project. Yo Miami is the long-running project of Yuval Ofir, whose mission includes making art accessible to regular folks. Now in charge at the Little Haiti Mural Project, he works with people who own residential properties in the neighborhood that offer affordable housing. He brings in artists such as Miami's Ivan Roque to decorate these properties with murals. "The idea was to try to fuse the history of Lemon City — and even before its establishment as such — with the more recent past and present, and its association with Haiti and the Caribbean," Ofir explains. The project will include two more murals over the next three months and some smaller ones as well. Ongoing at locations throughout Little Haiti; facebook.com/LittleHaitiMP.
Satellite Art Show. Satellite is one of the more avant-garde shows that really highlights the rawest art-making going down. That means it's sometimes a little unpredictable, but there are more instances of budding brilliance than you'll find at a posher fair. It's taking place in the Ice Palace's parking lot in shipping containers, which is wild but lets the fair present larger-scale outdoor installations such as Cool Shit's Snoop Dog Hot Dogs, King Mallard's Light Baths, Center Street Studio's The Donald Trump Tombstone, Sleeper's XXXX, and Trump Rat, produced by and courtesy of Bravin Lee Programs, as well as many others. The fair is collaborating with Electric Pickle to bring artsy musical acts such as Kalup Linzy and Rena Hart to blow your art-logged mind. 3 p.m. Thursday, December 6, through Sunday, December 10, in the Ice Palace Studios parking lot, 18 NW 14th St., Miami; satellite-show.com. Outdoor installations are free to view; tickets to the fair cost $25.
Suzy Kellems Dominik: Invisible. Artist Suzy Kellems Dominik's all-female talk about how art, storytelling, oral histories, and autobiographies can vindicate the female condition couldn't have come at a better time. Women's stories are so often swept under the rug and retold by others set on maintaining power. Kellems Dominik is known for the 12-foot neon sculpture of a vagina she showed at Miami Art Week last year, and she's brought another creation, Invisible, to the lobby of the Nautilus South Beach. The talk takes place at noon Wednesday, December 5. Invisible is on view Monday, December 3, through Sunday, December 9, at the Nautilus South Beach, 1825 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; suzykellemsdominik.com.
EXPANDVillage of Pinecrest and Xavier Cortada: "Underwater HOA." If you have lived in Miami, you're familiar with the work of Xavier Cortada. His mangroves adorned the I-395 overpass by downtown, an area that is now the main artistic artery of this city. His talents have been commissioned by the Village of Pinecrest for the interactive project “Underwater HOA,” which maps the elevation of 6,000 homes and four major intersections. It's a commentary on the effects of climate change with which motorists will be able to "see" where the sea level rises as they pass. These life-size installations are bringing art to the burbs, and some of the works were made with the help of area high-school students. Sunday, December 2, through Sunday, December 9, in select areas in Pinecrest, including on Killian Drive at 57th, 62nd, 67th, and 72nd Avenues; underwaterhoa.com.
Antonio Citterio: Ritual. What do you know about ultra-luxury condos? If you're not a gazillionaire, probably not much. But this Miami Art Week, you can get a pauper's look at Arte by Antonio Citterio — fancy residences that feature a marine-themed video light installation, Ritual, projected on two sides of the building. The project was curated by Stuart Parr and designed by Sophia Hanover of Thinkcraft. It'll be visible from Collins Avenue in Surfside. 5:30 to 11 p.m. Monday, December 3, through Sunday, December 9, at Arte by Antonio Citterio, 8955 Collins Ave., Surfside; artesurfside.com.
Still Life on Cushion. Art Week can be stressful. Take a breather with the community mediation project Still Life on Cushion. Find mediation cushions at 12th Street and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, outside Scope, to watch meditators from Innergy Meditation chilling and then changing guard on these blue pillows of heaven. This performance reminds you to be mindful and chill the hell out in the midst of Basel madness, and you can check out guided mediations to get in on the calming action. Innergy Meditation guided meditation sessions 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. Saturday, December 8, on the grass between 11th and 12th Streets and Ocean Drive; innergymedition.com.
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