As 2012 fades in the rearview mirror, Miami's art community is looking back at a city slowly, incrementally reinventing itself beyond the weeklong mania of Art Basel.
The past 12 months proved the Magic City can sustain ambitious art events year-round, from February's standalone Art Wynwood to the Miami Performance International Festival during the dog days of summer. But 2012 was also a transitional year, marked by big-name galleries closing and an exodus of local artists.
The downtown corridor seems poised to become a hot art enclave, evidenced by the impending opening of the new bayfront Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), the purchase of the historic Bacardi Building by the National YoungArts Foundation, and the relocation of artist-run spaces such as Dimensions Variable. South Florida's museums kept the momentum alive with blockbuster shows, while local artists such as Agustina Woodgate repped at Basel.
All in all, 2012 showed that Miami is amid an extraordinary evolutionary cycle. Its cultural sophistication grows every year, even as hiccups and handwringing slow the progress. Let's revisit the city's biggest art stories and best exhibits of the past year.
Read the full article in this week's issue.
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