The best Art Basel and Miami Art Week events to book for 2025
Go beyond the fairs with our guide to Miami Art Week’s can’t-miss parties, gallery shows, wellness events, music festivals and more.
By Falyn Wood
The time has come to send out your calendar invites, rename the group chat to something cute like “Basel Babes,” and start planning for the whirlwind ahead. Miami Art Week arrives on December 1, beckoning crowds to every corner of the city to partake in the international art fairs, museum shows, music festivals, culinary pop-ups, outdoor installations, wellness events and brand activations that have all been designed to platform and celebrate the arts.
For one glorious week, locals get to dress up and gallivant around town with the thrilling knowledge that their city is currently the epicenter of the art world. For visitors, Miami is a sun-soaked paradise to peruse and purchase art while exploring the amazing restaurants and neighborhoods that make the city so special. Whichever category you fall into, the best time to start prepping your Art Basel events schedule was yesterday—so let’s get to it.
We’ve combed literally hundreds of event listings, IG posts, and press releases to sort out all the stuff worth braving Miami traffic for this Art Week, and highlighted important details, including how to RSVP (crucial!). Below, find all our picks for the very best Miami Art Week activities to add to your calendar right now. And if you’re looking for more information on the best Art Week satellite fairs, we break it down in a separate story here.
Miami Art Week Exhibitions at Nina Johnson
When is it? Dec 1–Feb 7
What to expect: Acclaimed Miami gallerist Nina Johnson (who will be exhibiting at the flagship Art Basel fair for the first time this year) will debut three new shows at her beautiful Little Haiti space in tandem with Miami Art Week. Acid Bath House, organized by writer, curator and artist Jarrett Earnest, brings together 60 works by 25 artists to transform the main gallery space into a queer pleasure palace with candy-colored velvet sculptures, glitter and pearl paintings, liquid mirror, holographic images and more.
Neon Sun by Miami-based artist Emmett Moore transforms the gallery courtyard into a livable space with functional outdoor sculpture. Moore repurposes industrial waste into technically rigorous and design-forward refined forms. Think neon-pink aluminum benches, coral-like lamps carved from scrap foam and bowls fusing mussel shells with disposable lighters.
In the upstairs gallery, local artist Dara Friedman’s Star People reflects on the body’s connection to the cosmos. A timely and much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of Art Week, Friedman’s carefully crafted installations invite quiet contemplation and meditative rest, literally offering an opportunity to lie down and enjoy the wonder of stargazing.
Location: Nina Johnson Gallery, 6315 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33150
How to attend: Free and open to the public