Art Basel Miami Beach 2025: inside the edition that repositions the Americas on the international scene
With 283 participants, among them, 49 newcomers, Art Basel Miami Beach, which opens this Wednesday (03.12) for guests, presents a series of novelties that cover the digital sphere, fashion and also an unprecedented award
By Nô Mello
Highlighting Latin, indigenous and diasporic practices, the 23rd Art Basel Miami Beach, which this year takes place between Wednesday (03.12) and Sunday (07.12), aims to re-examine modernism in art through a decentralized lens, sheding light on both historical trajectories and innovative voices in current art. “Each edition responds to the urgency and ambition of its moment, while laying foundations for the future,” explains Bridget Finn, director of the fair. “From indigenous modernisms to emerging diasporic practices and digital forms, the fair traces how artists from all over America continue to reshape the global artistic imagination,” adds Vincenzo de Bellis, artistic director.
The ways in which this curatorial perspective translates are several in this edition of the event. Starting with the strong refresh that the fair gains with the arrival of 49 new participants, from the 283 galleries from 43 countries that make up the line-up. Among the group of new exhibitors, three galleries based in Miami, with very different profiles and origins, draw attention. Nina Johnson, a key name of the local arts community, participates for the first time in the fair, in its 18 years of existence, presenting new paintings by Patrick Dean Hubbell, whose work is based on the knowledge of his Navajo people (Diné).
The Voloshyn Gallery, originally from Kiev and affiliated in Miami since 2022, highlights Janet Sobel, born in Ukraine and who emerged in the 1940s as a central figure of the New York art scene, acclaimed by André Breton and Peggy Guggenheim. The Cuban El Apartamento, in tune with the opening in Miami of its second space outside Havana this year (the first was in Madrid, in 2023), focuses on the presentation of Cuban artists, such as Ariamna Contino, Diana Fonseca, Roberto Diago, Miki Leal and Orestes Hernández. From Brazil, the São Paulo debuts MaPa, which shows works by the gaucho Firmino Saldanha (1906-1985).
But not only new names in the gallery selection are the news of this edition, Bridget points out. In addition to its five main sectors (Galleries, Nova, Positions, Survey and Meridians), this edition of the fair marks the debut of the Zero10 platform, dedicated exclusively to digital art – according to the Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025, 51% of collectors have already bought digital works in the last two years, behind only painting and sculpture. “Extending our reach to digital makes complete sense. It will bring a totally new group of interested people, whether institutional or collectors,” bets the director.
The edition marks the premiere of the Art Basel Awards, rewarding 11 outstanding professionals and institutions in the visual arts and creative areas. And, to top it off, a fashion touch: Marc Jacobs signs an unprecedented partnership with Basel, bringing a capsule collection created in collaboration with artists David Shrigley, Derrick Adams and Hattie Stewart.