Art Week Cometh

The week after Thanksgiving, when Miami is indisputably the center of the global art world, is either the most exciting or the absolute worst time to live here, depending on your perspective. Whether you love contemporary art or just enjoy the sheer spectacle of it, having the world’s best galleries bring us work from their most talented, thought-provoking (or just provoking) artists is pretty amazing. BUT, navigating the multiple fairs, the traffic, the multi-tiered access, and the seemingly endless luxury brand “activations” is practically a blood sport that’s not for the faint of heart.

My advice for an enjoyable Art Week? If you’re not planning to ride it out in your bunker, the key is to plan ahead - like now. Below, after the few events happening over Thanksgiving, you’ll find my picks for Art Week, starting with a short section on the fairs and then moving on to daily events, as usual.

Of course, anchoring this circus are the art sales themselves, which reportedly have been down the last two years. But the recent sale at auction of that banana to a crypto-currency entrepreneur for $6.2 million has put the fizz back into expectations. Will crypto bro’s rain cash and save Art Week? We’re about to find out.

Last thing: the newsletter is too long this week to include the “Planning Ahead” section (sorry!). But you can scroll down to the bottom of my Highlights of the Fall issue to all the holiday performances.

Let’s get planning...

Ongoing Theater

Tick, Tick… Boom!

Actor’s Playhouse opens its 37th season with Tick, Tick… Boom!, the “other” musical by Jonathan Larson (who also wrote Rent and tragically died of a heart defect the day it opened). Packed with great songs like Therapy, this autobiographical work follows Jon, a young composer trying to balance the need to create with life’s complications and heartbreak. Performances run through December 8th.

8pm, Actor’s Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, $40

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Nearby Eats: Vinya Table, Francesco, Zitz Sum | Drinks: Armstrong Jazz House, Maíz y Agave

Monday, November 25th

An Evening with Chef Ana Quincoces

Books & Books welcomes celebrity chef Ana Quincoces to discuss her new cookbook, Modern Cuban: A Contemporary Approach to Classic Recipes. Quincoces has appeared on The Today Show, The View, and countless Food Network shows, but you may know her best from The Real Housewives of Miami. Modern Cuban aims to help a new generation of chefs perfect their sofrito, while teaching even experienced cooks how to adapt these classic recipes to the needs of modern diets - vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, even ketogenic. It’s hard to imagine a keto-friendly arroz con pollo, but if it exists, it’s in this book!

7pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, Free

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Nearby Eats: Zucca, Eating House, Osumi | Drinks: Armstrong Jazz House, Sospiro Wine Bar

Saturday, November 30th

Infinity Machine at the Bandshell

Prepare yourself for Art Week with the soothing sounds of Infinity Machine, a shamanic sound healing performance that combines meditation, dance, and ambient music. Collaborators John MacLean (aka The Juan MacLean) and DFA Record’s Greg Droggitis (aka Gee Dee) improvise with a range of analog, vibrational instruments and synth-derived sounds, in response not only to the crowd and each other, but also to the “physical/non-physical space” between them. Produced by the Rhythm Foundation as part of its Bandshell Laboratories program, this performance includes immersive visuals and choreographed dance by Sandra Portal-Abreu. Bring your yoga mat to follow along with the meditation.

8pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, $47

​​Neighborhood: North Beach

Nearby Eats: Taquiza, Silverlake Bistro, Sumak | Drinks: Lido Champagne Bar, Louie’s at Palm House

Sunday, December 1st

Progressive Art Brunch: Art Week Kickoff

Here we go! Miami’s hometown galleries put their best foot forward for Art Week, but you can get a jump on the international art crowd and see them first with this special edition of the Progressive Art Brunch. As per usual, you’ll have five hours (11am-4pm) to see the current exhibits at fifteen local galleries sprinkled throughout Allapattah, Little River and Little Haiti. Most of the galleries on the PAB list will be opening their biggest exhibit of the year during the event, so you don’t want to miss this one! Typically, some type of sparkling wine is available at each stop, but you’ll need to pace yourself because this is DAY ONE of art week.

11am-4pm, Various Galleries, Free

Neighborhoods: Allapattah, Little River, Little Haiti

Nearby Eats: Hometown BBQ (Allapattah), the Citadel (Little River), Walrus Rodeo (Little Haiti) | Drinks: Off Site, Magie

Also on December 1st: Andrew Reed Gallery celebrates the opening of Gonçalo Preto: Phantom Limb with an opening reception from 6-8pm.

Happening NEXT Week:

Artmageddon! And theater openings! Plus music! Basically, everything that could happen is happening…

Art Week Fairs: My Top Picks

“The Big Show”: Art Basel Miami Beach @ Miami Beach Convention Center (with Design Miami across the way)

The art world’s most important galleries bringing you their most important, most daring, most controversial, most beautiful stuff. Head straight to the Meridians section to see the pieces everyone will be talking about. And wear your most comfortable shoes!

Dec. 4th-5th for VIP’s (Free), Dec. 6th-8th for General Public ($65-$120)

Nearby Eats: Casa Tua, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Barceloneta | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Brother’s Keeper

“The Solid Sidekick”: Untitled @ Beach Tent at Ocean Drive & 12th Street

A smaller, more manageable show (with smaller, more manageable prices) of high quality galleries and artists, in a glowing white tent on the sands of Miami Beach. Bring your sunglasses!

Dec. 3rd for VIP’s (Free), Dec. 4th-8th for General Public ($25-$40)

Nearby Eats: Tropezón, The Alley, The Drexel | Drinks: Swizzle Rum Bar, The Piano Bar at The Betsy

“The Upstart”: NADA @ Ice Palace Studios

My favorite show! New and emerging artists from a non-profit art collective of young galleries, set in one of Miami’s most pleasant spaces, complete with garden hammocks.

Dec. 3rd-4th for VIP’s (Free), Dec. 4th-7th for General Public ($55-$75)

Nearby Eats: Bunbury, Miami Slice, Sokai Sushi Bar | Drinks: The Canvas Bar

“The Easy One”: Pinta @ The Hangar in Coconut Grove

If you want to experience Art Week without the traffic and spending eight hours on your feet, this small show of Spanish and Latin American art in the Grove is for you!

Dec. 5th-8th for General Public ($39), extra $40 for opening party Thursday night, including cocktails

Nearby Eats: Eva, Krüs Kitchen, Bellini, Bartaco (save a spot in line and have a drink upstairs while you wait) | Drinks: Mayfair rooftop, Level 6, Bodega (speakeasy, door at the back behind the counter)

Monday, December 2nd

Patrick Dean Hubbell: You Guide Me Through

Nina Johnson presents You Guide Me Through, a solo show of new work by Navajo artist Patrick Dean Hubbell, at her Little Haiti space. Dean’s work, created with natural pigments from the Navajo Nation, seeks to “redefine the visibility of the Indigenous experience,” according to the artist. Opening the same night will be Josué Sánchez: Guardians of the Sacred Land, a debut solo exhibit for the Peruvian artist and his intricate, narrative paintings.

Opening Reception 6-8pm, Nina Johnson Gallery, Free

Neighborhood: Little Haiti

Nearby Eats: Blue Collar, Phuc Yea, Walrus Rodeo | Drinks: Magie, Bar Kaiju

Also on December 2nd:

• The Rubell Museum opens exhibits of new acquisitions from seven important artists, a solo exhibit for artist-in-residence Vanessa Raw, and a rehang of their jawdropping collection, with extended museum hours from 10am-5:30pm.

• Spinello Projects opens Marlon Portales: The Last Man and Body & Spirit, a major multimedia group show, with an opening reception from 12-4pm.

• Art world Instagram sensation “Jerry Gogosian” and New York Magazine’s art critic Jerry Saltz discuss performance art as criticism at PAMM, at 3pm.

Tuesday, December 3rd

ICA and Design District Openings

ICA Miami anchors a host of exhibit openings in the Design District on Tuesday with a special opening night reception in their lovely sculpture garden for five exhibits they have to showcase, including Lucy Bull: The Garden of Forking Paths and Keiichi Tanaami: Memory Collage.

Opening Reception 6-9pm, Institute of Contemporary Art, Free for Members (or $50 to join)

Other (free) opening receptions around the Design District on Tuesday include:

• Alien, a group show of over 20 Asian artists curated by Yesiyu Zhao, at David Castillo (6-8pm).

• Woven, an outdoor sculptural installation with orchids by artist Joyce Billet in collaboration with Fairchild Tropical Garden (6-9pm).

• Austin Lee: Psychomachia, a new site-specific mural presented by gallerist Jeffrey Deitch, that fuses painting with digital technologies (6-8pm).

• Break Glass in Case of Creative Crisis, a new exhibit by Gabino Azuela and Jackie Crespo of Can Can Press, at Dale Zine (5-9pm).

• A show of recent work by street artist Slawn, at Saatchi Yates (4-6pm).

Nearby Eats: Michael's Genuine, Cote, Mandolin, Mother Wolf | Drinks: Swan & Bar Bevy, Le Jardinier

Also on December 3rd: 

• The Underline hosts artist Bony Ramirez for an open air panel discussion on his new public artwork, Is Blue the Color of the Ocean?, at the Underline Urban Gym at 9am.

• PAMM presents a panel discussion with artist Kate Capshaw, whose portrait paintings are on view at the museum, with her subject, local barber Sergei Grant and PAMM Director Franklin Sirmans, at 12:30pm.

• Faena opens its large site-specific installations, including Seletega by Nicolas Galinin, a Spanish galleon emerging from the sands, with a grand opening at 6:30pm and an afterparty with Fat Boy Slim.

Thursday, December 5th

Black Santa - Opening Night!

City Theatre and the Arsht Center present the Southeastern Premiere of Black Santa, an absurdist comedy about the ways racial assumptions can claim even our most benign cultural figures. After a 3rd grader named Sharifa publicly declares to fellow classmates at her exclusive private school that “Santa Claus is a black man from Detroit,” all hell breaks loose and the school’s sole black teacher is tasked with creating an ad campaign to make Santa white again. Performances through December 22nd.

7:30pm, Carnival Studio Theater at the Arsht Center, $56-$61

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: Mangrove, Tâm Tâm, Mignonette | Drinks: Lost Boy Dry Goods, Over Under

Also on December 5th:

• A talk with artist Laurie Simmons at ICA about The Kaleidoscope (…Bigger) House, an immersive participatory sculptural work in the heart of the Design District installed for Art Week, at 4pm.

• PAMM celebrates Art Week and its blockbuster José Parlá exhibit with its annual party on the terrace, with music curated by Homecoming, at 8pm.

• The U.S. premiere of The Great Yes, The Great No, a surrealist chamber opera that imagines giants of 20th century thought and culture aboard an ocean liner captained by Charon, the mythical boatman of the River Styx, at 8pm.

Friday, December 6th

Lincoln Road Hustle - Opening Night!

In the depths of the pandemic, Miami New Drama triumphed with The Seven Deadly Sins, an innovative roving theater piece set in shuttered Lincoln Road storefronts. Last year, they brilliantly staged a series of short plays in The Rubell Museum for The Museum Plays. Now, MiND is bringing a similar concept to Lincoln Road Hustle, a new play co-written by Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys). Staged in secret locations - shops, restaurants, public spaces - along Lincoln Road, the audience will be “eavesdropping” on the actors. The plot features a massive casino and real estate deal that could change Miami Beach forever, and all the hustlers in its orbit. How Miami is that?

7:30pm, Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, $45-$95

Nearby Eats: Barceloneta, Tropezón, Paya | Drinks: Brother’s Keeper, Abbey Brewing Co.

Also on December 6th:

• The Betsy Hotel celebrates its art installations for Art Week with a reception from 8-11pm, featuring newly commissioned dance work by former Martha Graham dancer Peter London.

• The Tribeca Festival, in partnership with Art Basel Miami Beach, presents trippy pop duo Magdalena Bay in concert at the Miami Beach Bandshell, at 8pm.

• Books & Books welcomes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss his children’s book The ABC’s of Democracy with our own Ana Navarro, co-host of The View, at 7:30pm.

• The Great Yes, The Great No gets another performance at the Arsht Center.

Saturday, December 7th

A Seraphic Fire Christmas

In the spirit of giving, Seraphic Fire gives its audience what it wants - a holiday concert, complete with candlelight and a fan favorite playlist featuring Ave Maria and Adeste Fideles.

7:30pm, St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, $65-$85

Neighborhood: The Roads

Nearby Eats: The Gibson Room, Coral House, LPM | Drinks: The Gibson Room, Chateau ZZ

Also on December 7th: 

• Locust Projects hosts a party with artists Alba Triana and Alexandre Arrechea to celebrate their new exhibits and the end of Art Week, 7-10pm.

• The Tribeca Festival presents Brazilian singer-songwriter Luedji Luna and world famous DJ Natasha Horn at the Miami Beach Bandshell, at 8pm.

Sunday, December 8th

Handel’s Messiah

The South Florida Symphony Orchestra rings in the holiday season with its annual performance of Handel’s glorious Messiah (or at least Part I, the Christmas part). Get your “Comfort Ye” fix, courtesy of four dazzling guest vocalists and the South Florida Symphony Chorus. This festive concert also features a selection of favorite holiday pops. If you’re looking to get in the holiday spirit, look no further!

4pm, Broad Center at Barry University, $30-$90

Neighborhood: Miami Shores

Nearby Eats: Edan Bistro, EntreNos, Sunny’s Steakhouse | Drinks: Bar Kaiju, Magie Wine Bar

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