With growing interest from artists, galleries, collectors, curators and musicians from around the world, Art Basel Miami is a week fulfilled with educational fun, art, music and cocktails. The one-week festivities consist of exhibitions of galleries all throughout the city. The original Basel, Switzerland based event, has transformed Miami in the last few years to an international gathering for art and music.
The Miami convention center had again turned into an adult playground and was the pit stop for artist and admirers. It held the official international exhibition with gallery participants showing off their work. A day of champagne and art can be a pleasant start to an exciting weekend.
Though the convention center holds a big part of the exhibit, the 2012 Miami edition was again spread over a vast number of different locations. Warehouses through downtown and Wynwood were filled with eager visitors looking for a different experience. Pulse, an art show in the Ice Palace was the highlight of the weekend with experimental and impressive exhibits by various artists. The strong contribution of street art was also present throughout Miami as buildings, walls, clubs and restaurants had a creative make-over for the week being.
But what will art be without some music to go along with! Art Basel 2012 also marked the beginning of major electronic music events and label showcases. After all the walking around and admiration of creativity, as soon as the sun went down, it was time to change the costumes and hit the town for an exciting music break with quality entertainment for those who needed a dance. Parties and showcases including major players in the electronic music were hosted throughout the city.
To kick off the weekend on Friday, Life & Death showcased their artists at the legendary Electric Pickle. Starting off early the patio with Thugfucker and Tale of Us, who continued the extravaganza upstairs throughout the night, followed by a special guests appearance by The Martinez Brothers downstairs where the vibes were absolutely magical all night long. The same night My Favorite Robot were shaking things up at Treehouse with melodic and outstanding performance. Saturday night was between Electric Pickle for Pillowtalk and Treehouse again, which turned into an electronic scene reunion with friends from all over the globe and Dyed Soundorom’s and Guy Gerber’s tag team performance to remember. In between, Damian Lazarus and Seth Troxler were rocking the W Hotel next door for some serious action.
Of course what is a party without the afterparty? As the Miami sun hit the horizon, club Station down-town hosted the after-hour to be remembered, with Seth Troxler’s and Guy Gerber’s memorable performances. Well let’s be honest, there is no better way to spend four days under the Miami sun!
And what better way to end an excellent weekend than with a Soul Clap Records release party at the Electric Pickle. Charlie and Eli took over the Pickle with their disco vibes, showcasing their new label with artists such as Nick Monaco and Night Plane.
There is nothing more tempting than music, friends and Basel celebration in December. This exciting playground is becoming a gathering of worldly creative minds and is showing more and more attendees every year. With growing interest and strong influence, Art Basel is slowly taking over the well-known March Winter Music Conference. “Art Basel is what WMC was 15 years ago” says Connie, a resident DJ of one of the well-respected parties in NYC, Resolute. “WMC was ruined by vinyl lack and Ultra Music Festival becoming spring break”, also commented Peter Bones, a Tampa DJ.
