A Week of Wonder

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A WEEK OF WONDER

By Jenny Starr Perez

MIAMI ART WEEK RETURNS WITH NEW ENERGY, GLOBAL VOICES AND A CITYWIDE CONVERSATION ABOUT CREATIVITY.

Each December, Miami becomes the center of the global art world. Collectors, curators, and creatives converge for Art Week, transforming the city into a network of galleries, installations, and late-night conversations. It’s an annual ritual that feels both electric and effortless, equal parts sophistication and spontaneity. From the convention halls of Miami Beach to the warehouses of Wynwood, the week offers a snapshot of where art is headed—and the people leading it there.

Art Basel - Meridians, Tina Kim Gallery Lee

The FAIRS

At the heart of it all, Art Basel Miami Beach anchors the week at the Miami Beach Convention Center with 280 of the world’s leading galleries. This year’s edition amplifies global voices and fresh narratives, connecting modern masters with rising artists redefining contemporary expression. Expect immersive installations, digital works and a strong representation of Latin American art, as well as large-scale public projects across Collins Park and SoundScape. Across from the main event, Design Miami celebrates collectible design and craftsmanship. The fair’s theme, “Where We Stand,” examines the intersection of design and identity through pieces that blur the line between art, architecture and utility. Designers like Katie Stout and The Haas Brothers reinterpret form with humor and humanity, while legacy brands unveil new collaborations that bridge generations of innovation.

Liquid Art System No title, Silvia Berton

Iustitia Fine Arts - Otoño, Tuba Önder

Allure, Roman Gulma. NISTICOVICH GALLERY

Over on the mainland, Art Miami and CONTEXT at One Herald Plaza remain collector favorites. Together, they create a conversation between experience and discovery — where investment-grade works hang alongside emerging talent. NADA Miami, held at Ice Palace Studios, keeps its cool as the fair for discovery, emphasizing independent galleries and experimental art that pushes boundaries.

On the sands of Ocean Drive, Untitled Art curates its beachfront pavilion with the precision of a museum and the intimacy of a studio visit. Minimal staging lets the work breathe, from conceptual installations to quiet paintings that demand reflection. And in Wynwood, Red Dot and Spectrum fill Mana Contemporary with energy, featuring live painting, performance and a mix of international exhibitors. Meanwhile, Prizm Art Fair and AfriKin Art continue to spotlight artists of African and Afro-diasporic descent. Their programming — equal parts visual and cultural — expands Miami’s artistic dialogue beyond aesthetics, delving into identity, community and heritage.

Daniele Comelli Art - Fake Abstract (Bouguereau)

The Art of The Escpae

FOR THOSE SEEKING BALANCE AMID THE FRENZY, THE LOEWS MIAMI BEACH HOTEL OFFERS THE ART OF CALM.

Following a $55 million renovation, the Loews Miami Beach Hotel has reemerged as a haven of understated luxury, perfectly positioned between the energy of Collins Avenue and the serenity of the ocean. During Art Week, the Loews becomes an unofficial clubhouse for the cultural crowd. The hotel’s “Art of the Escape” programming includes an artist-in-residence series curated by Stef Ross, whose studio-style pop-ups transform the lobby into a working gallery. Morning wellness sessions and beachfront breakfasts set the tone for days spent fair-hopping, while intimate evening events draw collectors and curators back together over champagne and conversation. Art isn’t decoration here — it’s dialogue. Sculptures, photography and contemporary works fill the reimagined public spaces, reflecting the same creative energy that defines the city itself. For many, Loews isn’t simply a stay — it’s part of the experience, a moment of stillness in the middle of Miami’s most exhilarating week. Loewshotels.com

Echo Fine Arts Cloud, Astrid Verhoef

Lucio Carvalho (Rio De Janeiro 1965), The Garden of the Unknown, 2025, Oil on canvas, 71” x 79”

“Olga de Amaral” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, presented with the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, May 1 - October 12, 2025. © Olga de Amaral. Photo: © 2025, Kris Tamburello

Opposed Linear Forms, Richard Hunt - 1961

Carlos Cruz-Diez: Chromosaturation, 1965/2007, Pérez Art Museum Miami, 2022–23. Photo: Oriol Tarridas

Christo and Jeanne-Claude Surrounded Islands Documentation Exhibition, 2025. Courtesy of NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale.

Art Miami

EXHIBITIONS and THINGS TO SEE

Beyond the fairs, art spreads across the city in ways both grand and unexpected. In the Miami Design District, art, design and luxury intersect across open plazas and palm-lined streets. This year, the neighborhood partners with Design Miami Curatorial Lab to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Annual Design Commission, naming Katie Stout as the 2025 recipient. Her new installation, “Gargantua’s Thumb”, transforms the district into a surreal playground populated by sculptural furniture that doubles as characters — a whale, mermaid, alligator, dog, pelican, turtle, horse, trout and crab — each inviting interaction and delight. At its center, a carousel spins beneath a canopy of hundreds of suspended orbs embedded with flora- and fauna-inspired figures, creating a dreamlike conversation between art and movement.

The celebration also marks the 20th anniversary of Design Miami’s flagship fair, where additional works from Stout’s commission will appear as part of the neighborhood’s ongoing dialogue between fine art and functional design.

Inside Dacra’s headquarters, the Craig Robins Collection — one of Miami’s most significant private collections — debuts its 2025–2026 rehang, “Walking on Air.” The exhibition centers on Richard Tuttle, the collection’s most extensively represented artist, showcasing works from the 1960s to today. Early pieces such as Drift (1965) and Letters(1966) highlight Tuttle’s lifelong fascination with material delicacy and spatial tension. Placed in conversation with works by David Hammons, John Baldessari, and Marcel Duchamp, the show examines balance, chance and gravity in artmaking.

The new presentation also features paintings by Jana Euler, Sasha Gordon, Xinyi Cheng, and Mario Ayala, alongside recent acquisitions by Lauren Halsey, Sam McKinniss, and Jill Mulleady — underscoring the collection’s commitment to both historical resonance and emerging vision. Those who see jewelry as an art form will be dazzled as Cartier turns its newly designed boutique into an exhibition space with the immersive “Panthiere in the Wild” exhibition. Public installations transform palm-lined streets into open-air museums — proof that in Miami, the line between art and everyday life is blissfully blurred.

At the Faena District, London-based artist Es Devlin’s “Library of Us” transforms the Faena Forum into an immersive mirrored labyrinth exploring human connection through poetry and light. Nearby, Faena Beach features monumental outdoor works that shift with the tide and the time of day — an annual tradition of large-scale storytelling.

The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) continues to lead Miami’s institutional conversation under chief curator José Carlos Díaz. The museum’s winter lineup highlights international voices while embracing Miami’s cultural identity, reminding visitors that art here is as much about place as perspective.

ICA Miami balances conceptual rigor with visual surprise, while No Vacancy pairs artists with hotels across Miami Beach — including The Betsy, The Sagamore and The Shelborne — turning hospitality into a medium for installation art.

Along Lincoln Road, sculptures by local and global artists animate the pedestrian promenade. The fourteen impactful installations transform Lincoln Road into an open-air gallery this season. Highlights include “Empower Flower,” Rubem Robierb’s gleaming lotus that feels both fragile and fierce, and Oscar Esteban Martinez’s “La Herencia Viva,” a towering human head etched with puzzle pieces. Overhead, Philippe Katerine’s five bubblegum-pink inflatables — collectively titled “Mr. Pink Takes Flight” — float playfully against the Miami sky, a reminder that art can make you look up and wish for wings.

For Miami Art Week, Soho Beach House unveils an entirely new permanent art collection — and for the first time, it’s dedicated entirely to photography. Curated by Kate Bryan, the house’s global head of collections, the exhibition celebrates the power and versatility of the medium through a lineup that bridges continents and generations. Works by Isaac Julien, JR, Marilyn Minter, Walead Beshty, Ming Smith, Hank Willis Thomas, René Matic, Dayanita Singh, Thomas Dozol and Douglas Gordon headline the curation.

The collection captures the immediacy and emotion of photography as fine art — exploring light, identity and narrative in strikingly personal ways. As guests move through the space, they’ll find the works integrated throughout the property’s interiors, turning the members’ club into a living gallery that reflects Miami’s role as a crossroads for global creativity.

Reefline, Leandro Erlich. At the forefront of contemporary urban art, Wynwood Walls Museum remains the world’s premier outdoor street art destination — a cultural landmark that continues to evolve with Miami’s creative energy. Curated by Jessica Goldman Srebnick, the 2025 Art Week program introduces a new exhibition titled “ONLY HUMAN,” exploring what remains uniquely human in an age of accelerating technology.

The show celebrates lived experience and imagination through murals by SETH, Miss Birdy, Cryptik, Sickid, Joe Iurato and Pursue, each transforming the museum’s walls into meditations on empathy, expression and connection. Inside the Goldman Global Arts Gallery, companion works by Retna, Simon Berger, Sandra Chevrier and El Mac expand the theme through texture and portraiture.

With artists from more than 25 countries represented, the Wynwood Walls experience this year reflects both the global reach and local roots of street art’s evolution — reaffirming Miami’s reputation as the canvas of contemporary culture.

Things To Know Before You Go

FOR THOSE SEEKING BALANCE AMID THE FRENZY, THE LOEWS MIAMI BEACH HOTEL OFFEMIAMI ART WEEK IS EXHILARATING, BUT IT’S ALSO A MARATHON. HERE’S HOW TO NAVIGATE THE FAIRS, PARTIES AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN WITH INSIDER EASE:RS THE ART OF CALM.

Plan your route. Traffic can stretch longer than a fair’s VIP line, so cluster your visits by neighborhood — Basel and Design Miami in South Beach, NADA and Art Miami downtown, Wynwood for walls and after-hours. Ride shares surge; bikes and hotel shuttles save time.

Dress strategically. It’s a fine line between art-world cool and tropical survival. Think linen, flat shoes, and a layer for over-air-conditioned tents. A structured tote that fits a notebook, charger and water bottle is your best investment piece of the week.

Know your access. Most fairs offer tiered entry; VIP previews and Vernissages fill fast. Check registration deadlines early and remember that smaller satellite fairs sometimes require separate passes.

Hydrate and recharge. Miami’s sunshine is stunning but merciless. Carry sunscreen, stop for a coconut water, and take breaks at shaded cafés like OTL in the Design District or The Café at PAMM.

Stay connected. Social media doubles as a map during Art Week. Follow fairs and curators on Instagram for last-minute events, pop-ups and afterparties — but double-check locations; the art crowd loves a surprise move.

Don’t overschedule. Some of the best moments happen by chance: a pop-up in a parking lot, a spontaneous talk, a rooftop show at sunset. Leave space for discovery — that’s where Miami’s magic hides.

End with intention. Whether you wrap at a collector dinner, a late Wynwood opening or just with your feet in the ocean, take a moment to pause. Art Week may center on art, but it’s also about connection — with ideas, places, and the pulse of a city always creating itself anew.