The ABCs of Art Basel Miami

26 things to see and do at Miami's annual "art" fair

By The Editors
December 3, 2015 9:00 am

Buzzy international culture fair Art Basel is upon us, and so our annual migration to Miami begins. While you were busy picking up some new Orlebar Brown swim trunks and perfecting your pool party bod, we were trading our souls and firstborn children in order to scrape together the ABCs of Art Basel for your viewing pleasure.

While this list won’t guarantee you entry, it will at least point you in the right direction … because finding directions to the Miami Beach Convention Center is not why you read InsideHook.

A$AP Rocky, man of “Lord Pretty Flacko” fame, is the headliner at Mana Wynwood on Saturday night.

Baby’s All Basel: Brooklyn’s hottest new live music venue, Baby’s All Right, is hosting a weeklong concert series.

The Chicago Takeover with Wild Belle and artist Don’t Fret hits the Broken Shaker on Saturday.

The Dream South Beach is hooking up with GQ Style Guy and artist Mark Anthony Green to host a series of parties and pop-up shop.

Electric Beach is a party series hosted by Corona on Saturday afternoon featuring Chilean artist DASIC.

Faena Art will host a Neo-Disco roller rink throughout the week. Leave your skates at home — they’ll be provided.

Guy Gerber performing at the 1 Hotel is a great free concert option. Be sure to get there early though, doors at 6 PM.

The Hall South Beach Hotel is going to be home to Montauk’s The Surf Lodge, with a series of live performances, artist dinners and general VIP revelry.

III Points is throwing an Art Basel concert series that is absolutely phenomenal.

UK wunderkind Jamie xx performs with Four Tet at Mana Wynwood on Friday night.

NYC shoe mecca KITH is having an exhibition on Friday at Miami’s Joshua Liner Gallery celebrating Ronnie Fieg’s “KITH HOMAGE.”

Life and Death is hosting a showcase on Thursday night with special guest Richie Hawtin.

If it’s not clear already, Mana Wynwood is ground zero for the happenings and major shows on the mainland side of Art Basel.

Never Never is traveling to Miami to host a super exclusive pop-up party series at the Nautilus, A SIXTY Hotel.

Overton Youth Center is the benefactor of The Bon Vivants, Esquire and Imbibe’s Second Annual Swig n’ Swine Fundraising Party. Tickets required.

Pigalle and Le Pompon are putting together a pop-up party that will surely run late and require some suaveness (or believable name-dropping) at the door. Friday through Sunday. Say hi to Drake for us.

Quitting is not an option! It’s Saturday morning and you have to post 10 mind-blowing Instagrams before your friends wake up. In other news, none of the weekend’s events start with the letter “Q.”

Rockwell Miami is teaming up with New York clubs 1OAK and Up & Down to ensure that you don’t go to sleep and miss your morning SoulCycle class. Dancercize!

Don’t miss the Scope 15th Anniversary Party, this year at Nikki Beach on Friday, with Mack Wilds and Lil Dicky on the stage.

Taste What’s Next, presented by Bon Appetit and Volvo, is a good checkpoint for the occasional refuel. Remember, eating paint is dangerous and frowned upon.

Uber Boat is the hottest ticket for shuttling the herds back and forth seamlessly between Wynwood and Miami Beach.

Virgil Abloh is going to be everywhere, from the Versace Mansion on Friday to the Basement Miami on Sunday.

Wework is hosting the “We For Real House Party,” a dance party on Thursday that will ensure that no work will be done on Friday. You should lie to your boss and say they you will be working from home anyways.

X-Contemporary Art Fair is a great opportunity to experience some of the coolest contemporary art of the weekend. They also have an excellent schedule of live events.

Daniel Arsham “The Future is Written” Time-Lapse1:06

YoungArts show, “The Future Was Written,” features an interactive work by Daniel Arsham that asks visitors to use one of 2,000 chalk objects to draw on the gallery walls.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz, the entire flight home, because you are surely not going to sleep all weekend. Enjoy yourself.

—Bryan Grimes

Images by Ines Hegedus-Garcia and Jeremiah Garcia

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