Avoid Miami during Art Basel?

If you can get a hotel room at a good price then you should come. It's a very, very cosmopolitan atmosphere. It will be busy, but if you like being in a city then you'll enjoy the energy with all sorts of interesting people, art lovers, artists, celebrities, and art everywhere. Usually there are many free events, especially at the satellite shows. It's the best week to feel alive in Miami. Here are some glowing comments about it from yelp:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/art-basel-miami-beach-miami-beach

Thanks, SoBchBud1, for your response! You sound like a local, so I have a few more questions that I hope you could help answer.

1) Is South Beach still happening on Thanksgiving night? Or where should we hang out on TG night? We don't want to get cooped up in the hotel on TG night.

2) Are the shops in Little Havana open on early Sunday morning? Afraid if they're open later because of church or just because it's Sunday. What's a good time to get there?

Thanks much!

That's the week to be there. GREAT people watching. Fun free events such as Friday night in the Design District (at least in years past). Sorry we have to miss it this year!

Art Basel is an internationally acclaimed event well worth visiting...I highly recommend it!

I've been going to Art Basel Miami Beach every year since 2004 or 2005 (and we spent our honeymoon at Art Basel in Switzerland in 2006!). As the other posters mentioned, it is a great time to go. You can check the Miami Herald and other local web sites for events that week, as well as www.ArtBasel.com, the main site.

Of all the events, I most enjoy the "Conversations" series, which are open to the public (and I believe they are free); you will meet and interact with some of the world's top collectors, curators and art experts in an intimate environment.

The public program is located at:

http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/global/show_document.asp?id=aaaaaaaaaaateud

As SoBchBud mentioned, the hotels can be problematic that weekend (cheaper properties in South Beach, that would normally be $100/night, jack up their rates to $300-400 on that weekend). You can get around that by staying outside of South Beach (there is not much of an increase in the rates in hotels in northern Miami Beach and in Miami). This year the hotels are apparently slower (many properties that have been sold out at this point other years still have rooms available).

The crowds are no worse than a typical winter weekend, although top restaurants and clubs will be a lot more crowded.

As an addendum to my post:

Even for someone who is not as obsessed with art as my family is (my wife has written seven books on art and is a curator), Art Basel is an enjoyable event to attend and learn about art that you don't yet see in most museums.

Mr. Miller,

Thank you much for posting the schedules. I agree, it is worth every penny.

One thing no one has mentioned is that while it will indeed be busy that weekend, it isn't so much different than about 60% of ALL weekends of the year. There are lots of major events and huge conventions all the time in Miami. Waiting for a time when hotels are cheap or it isn't busy will simply mean you may be waiting and waiting to go.

Stephany,

You are welcome. Art Basel is a unique treasure for anyone with an interest in the visual arts. Even though on the surface it is a venue for luxury goods (and on the weekend, a lot fewer serious collectors attend; it is more of a social scene), it is the greatest art festival in the Western hemisphere, putting all the other fairs basically out of business. Between the main fair and the ancillary fairs and exhibits, you'll see more contemporary art in the week than you would by spending five weeks in Chelsea in New York. (I know many Europeans who bought, and are buying, apartments in the area just to be there for that week).

Also, I did mention the issue of crowds: "The crowds are no worse than a typical winter weekend, although top restaurants and clubs will be a lot more crowded."

The issue of the hotels jacking up their rates has been a concern to the Art Basel officials for the past four years; the only other time that this occurs is Super Bowl weekend. This year, though, as the dates approach, the rates are becoming more rational (and there is still availability, unlike in most other years).

Mr. Miller,
I can imagine this art show is an awesome event and am sorry we missed it last year. Indeed, I am surprised how inexpensive the tickets are considering all the efforts that must go into organizing this effort. Well, buying a painting may be another story. Ha. Now I wonder if we should buy the the tickets in advance?
We’ll probably rent a condo with parking cause we’ll be driving down. Also, Turon Travel Inc. is offering discounts for some hotels but I have not checked them out yet. Let’s hope the European friends will buy more condos this year. Heavens know Florida can use some help. Please tell what your wife name is.

You can buy the tickets at the door (I am not sure what the advance sale procedure is). The exhibitors may disagree with you regarding 'inexpensive'!

I've worked with Turon in the past; their rates and availability on the better hotels is usually pretty good; this year, however, I wouldn't be surprised if the hotels offer better deals directly (that happened to a few groups we worked with last year).

Feel fee to write to me personally (you can click on my name and be taken to my fodor's profile page which contains my email; I am not sure if we can post it on the forums).

My wife's name is Natalia Kolodzei; her foundation's website is www.kolodzeiart.org

JC98 - There are always people out and about on South Beach, even Thanksgiving and Christmas Nights. It might be a little slower traffic wise, but there is still some action to be found. Your best bets would be on Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive. Many restaurants will be open, but you should call ahead and make reservations. If you're looking to do a Thanksgiving Dinner I'm sure the bigger hotels will have a good set set up (The Fontainebleu, Ritz Carlton, Loews, etc.)
An excellent place to have Thanksgiving dinner, albeit a bit pricey, would be at Barton G Restaurant. You need to make a reservation.
http://www.bartong.com/restaurant/

As far as Little Havana is concerned, truthfully I've never more than a passing interest in it. It's not really known for its shops which are mostly uninteresting. Make a short morning of it here by going to Domino Park then having an excellent Cuban Lunch at Cafe Versailles. It will be busy and very very Miami Cuban. I'd spend the rest of the day in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, or Vizcaya. A really excellent place to visit on a Sunday morning or afternoon would be Fairchild Tropical Gardens.

http://www.vizcayamuseum.org/
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/

Thanks, SoBchBud1, for all the great suggestions!

And thanks everyone for convincing me to check out Basel Art! We've decided to work out our schedule, so we could spend the last Sat afternoon/night and Sun morning (12/5-6) in Miami to overlap the last portion of Art Basel. We'll check the agenda for some free public events during that time.

Thanks again!

Mr. Miller, gee, wiz, have I missed something? I think the tickets are about $50 each? Right? Not much more than one Miami Beach dinner. Also, it seems to me that public events are pretty much over by Saturday. I admit I am not at all familiar with eastern European artists, but will enjoy seeing their work, no doubt.

Here are the prices:

One Day Ticket $35
Two Day Ticket $55
Permanent Pass $75
Evening Ticket (valid from 4 p.m.) $20
Reduced One Day Ticket (Students with ID, Senior Citizens aged 62 and above, Groups of 10 or more) $20

Here are two two articles touching on my family's art collection:

The first is a travel article on Moscow in Robb Report, highlighting the art and culture of the city. My wife, Natalia Kolodzei (now a foreign Akadamician and member of the Russian Academy of Art), is featured as "the person to know" regarding Russian art, and "one of the most influential of Russia's young cultural figures."

http://www.robbreport.com/Bear-Essentials.aspx?mpid=1

Also, Forbes ran an article in the June 2, 2008 issue on our foundation and art collecting activities:

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/forbes/2008/0602/158.html

The collection, founded in Moscow in the 1960s, now contains over 7,000 pieces by over 300 artists, all from Russia and the former Soviet Union. We have in previous years co-sponsored some events around Art Basel, but you'll still see some pieces that are similar to my family's collection in some of the exhibits.

Mr. Miller, thank you, again. The Forbes article is quite interesting. Obviously, Tatiana is an exceptional person and Natalia is as well. Their collection is very impressive. Am sure my amateurish –no vision- eyes will enjoy every second of the Basel festival.
We, the Floridians should promote it more aggressively. A very few in my neighborhood even know about it. Thank you JC98 for bringing it up.

I think, although I may be wrong, the only free museums in the entire world are in Washington, D.C.

In addition to the Art Basel website metioned above, here is the microsite from the Miami Herald:

http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/arts/art-basel/index.html

This is a good resource for finding the many other art fairs running concurrent to Art Basel Miami Beach.

ART BASEL info - artist bios - events

@ http://miazine.com
http://eyesonmiami.com

In addition to the Conversations series which I mentioned above, the Art Salons will give attendees a very high level of access to the leading opinion makers of the contemporary art world:

http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/global/show_document.asp?id=aaaaaaaaaaatgdq

Although there are a lot of conflicting events, I will try to attend most of the Art Salon series.

Some of the highlights of Art Salon and Conversations:

Ai Weiwei (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/world/asia/28weiwei.html?ref=arts); one of the greatest living Chinese artists

James Rosenquist (one of America's greatest living artists

Where else could you not only hear these artists speak, but also personally speak with them?