Just a few years ago, if you had asked just about anyone what they thought of "pop-ups," the responses would've been hateful and disgusted across the board: "Those god-forsaken, invasive little adverts? They've completely buggered my computer! Have these people no shame?!"
But times have changed for the once-dubious term. From restaurants to retail outlets to art exhibits, now everybody and their half-sister wants to know when and where the next pop-up event is.
And it just so happens that there are more pop-ups popping up in Miami in the first week of December than there usually are during the other 11 months of the year. As with so many other forms of entertainment, excitement, indulgence, and distraction, Art Basel has cornered the pop-up market. 'Tis the season, as they say. Here are a few temporary events not to miss.
Pop-Up Piano Miami
This is the third year of Pop-Up Piano Miami, the event group that distributes a set of pianos, each uniquely painted by a different artist, around a variety of locations in Miami. And while they have yet to come up with a better acronym than PUPM, they are making a few changes for the festivities this time around.
First and foremost, they won't be releasing the pianos into the wild anymore, leaving them on sidewalks and street corners for any man or beast to play. This has been their practice in the past, and at the end of Art Basel, when they would be donating the colorfully adorned pianos to children's shelters, the instruments would be so beat up that they'd hardly get any use before they went entirely to pieces. Instead, this year they're partnering up with Related Group and hosting events at three of their in-progress locations: the SLS Brickell, Hyde Midtown, and Paraiso Bay, which will be on the waterfont off of Biscayne and 31st.
When the music's over and Basel comes to a close, PUPM will be auctioning off the pianos and giving the profits to the kids. No, you can't just wander over to the intersection of Dade and Meridian and play a garish standup piano at any given moment this year, but the pianos that PUPM will be setting up in the upcoming chic locales will be there for you to play at your leisure. Visit popuppianomia.com.
Ryan Humphrey: Playing Heavy
167 NW 25th St, Miami, FL
Remember last year, when artist Asif Farooq opened a pop-up shop selling a wide variety of guns made out of cardboard? This year's buzzworthy pop-up shop will be like that, but with skate stuff. Baselites can visit a pop-up boutique skate shop with one of a kind skateboards built and painted by Ryan Humphrey.
The pop-up shop will be open for four days, from December 4th to the 8th, between the hours of noon and 9 p.m. Everything inside, including a pair of custom painted BMX bikes, will be for sale. Humphrey has also set up a launch ramp at the location which will be used for a launch competition on Friday, December 6th from 8-11 pm.
The Newstand
The Standard, 40 Island Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The Newstand began as a pop-up shop in New York City, specifically the Williamsburg area's Metropolitan subway station in Brooklyn, a sort of haberdashery hole in the wall to sell, swap, and expose new works by local artists. This new southern incarnation will be slightly different. According to Alldayeveryday, the organizers of the event, it will be slightly more tailored to some of the artists and writers who'll be featured at Art Basel this year.
Prominently featured will be the new books of Ryan McGuinness and Glen O'Brien, as well as a range of zines, from the rarified to the fetishized, catering to the whims and wants of a variety of niche appetites. The items for sale at The Newstand (which runs December 4th to 8th and is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.) will will be a bit too eclectic and changing dependent on the guest clerk of the day to be listed in full here, so it would probably be best to just drop by and see what catches your eye.
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