The 6th annual Art Basel Miami Beach closed Sunday reporting a higher overall attendance, more gallery participation and more international media coverage than in past years.
Messe Schweiz, the art fair’s owner, reported 43,000 visitors attended the fair, which officially kicked off Dec. 6 but began informally with collector parties, museum exhibition openings and other cultural events on Dec. 3.
The 200 galleries from 30 countries were selected from 850 applicants — the most the fair has received since it launched in December 2002. Art works by more than 2,000 artists were exhibited for sale inside the Convention Center and in shipping containers retrofitted for gallery space in Collins Park.
In addition to setting new attendance and gallery participation records, this year’s fair was the last under Art Basel Miami creator & director Sam Keller, who launched the inaugural fair as a sister to the original Art Basel in Switzerland.
In January, Keller will become director of the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland.
He will be replaced by a triumvirate to include director of operations and finance Annette Schonholzer, artistic director Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, and director for strategy and development Marc Spiegle.
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How much did attendance rise from last year?
The magic eightball/internet is claiming… it is coming through now… looks like… 36000 to 43000 so roughly 7000.
Honestly I thought there were less people than last year, although sales seemed decent.