Art Basel recently announced its program and exhibitor list for the upcoming Miami edition next December. The 2024 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach will be the first headed by Bridget Finn, who assumed the directorship of the event last year, taking over from Noah Horowitz, now Art Basel’s CEO, during a period in which the mega fair brought on several new faces, including Maike Cruse (director of Art Basel Basel), Clément Delépine (director of Art Basel Paris) and Angelle Siyang-Le, Director (director of Art Basel Hong Kong). Observer caught up with Finn to discuss how her vision for Art Basel Miami Beach has evolved and where she hopes to take the fair in the future.
This is the first edition under your directorship. What were some of the main goals you set for this year to ensure this edition is successful?
For this iteration, we worked hard to showcase bold and ambitious projects by emerging and established voices across the Americas. We have been thinking a lot about the need to welcome new artistic voices and perspectives from various regional contexts. Even considering North America, we have looked very much at what’s happening in New York and L.A., as well as beyond. We also have galleries from Portland and Dallas, so we’re decentralizing a bit.
Art Basel Miami Beach has always tried to highlight art and art galleries from Central and South America. How does this manifest in this year’s edition, and is there room for improvement?
The fact that Art Basel Miami is located at a geographical and cultural nexus between North and South America is what makes it vibrant and an incredible show. Therefore, it is 100 percent one of my top priorities to continue strengthening that collaboration with galleries, artists, collectors and institutions from the region.
This year, thirty-six galleries with principal exhibition spaces in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Uruguay are participating in the fair. Among them, five are participating in Art Basel Miami Beach for the first time, which includes Espacio Continuo (Bogotá), Carmo Johnson Projects (São Paulo), PIEDRAS (Buenos Aires), Verve (São Paulo), Portas Vilaseca Galeria (Rio de Janeiro). Also, in the positions section, we will have some exciting projects by emerging artists from Mexico, Guatemala, and South America.
This is something that I prioritize, but historically, for all of the stakeholders that care about Basel Miami Beach, this focus has always been a priority in how the show is realized.
You landed this role after gaining extensive experience in the gallery ecosystem, having directed the contemporary art program at Mitchell-Innes & Nash from 2013 to 2017, held various roles at Anton Kern Gallery from 2007 to 2010 and started your own Detroit-based gallery, Reyes | Finn. What do you believe are the most significant challenges that galleries face today?
Having been in the gallery business, I am very aware that throughout the evolution of the gallery lifecycle, one has different needs at different times, depending on the needs of your artist and the structure of your business. There are so many different kinds of galleries, and they have very diverse needs. Therefore, I need one-to-one conversations with people to understand what they expect from the show and how we can better facilitate their success on the show floor. This is my focus: I am trying to be very present for the galleries. Every day, my calendar is full of meetings to discuss what is best for them.
There is much debate about the significant investment that galleries have to make for Art Basel, which can be risky and jeopardize their financial sustainability if things go differently than expected. This is a significant challenge, especially for small and midsize galleries. As someone involved in the gallery business, what steps and changes are you taking to address this problem?.
I’m aware galleries face challenges in finding the right fit within the Art Basel fair structure and doing it at the right time to support their business growth and development. This is something we constantly think about. On top of the existing sliding scale pricing model, we introduced a new booth size this year, which is essentially the same footprint as our “Nova” sector but in the main section. “Position” is an excellent opportunity for galleries to produce one project that’s thought through in advance and precisely aligns with what the artist feels is critical to be shown. It remains a great introduction to Art Basel. “Nova” is also unique to Miami Beach and offers the opportunity to show up to three artists, but there are criteria and parameters for those sections.
Overall, I believe Art Basel provides galleries with the right footing for the next step. Also, from experience, when I had a gallery, Art Basel Miami, it allowed us to extend our reach far beyond what we would have been able to accomplish without really taking great advantage of the show platform. It’s about a platform allowing galleries to extend their reach exponentially.
The selection system is another area of contention. Galleries might argue that gallerists on the committee could penalize those they see as competitors. How do you ensure the selection process is fair and fully transparent?
I think I have a unique vantage point here because I have been waitlisted at our fairs. When I came into this role, I was very curious about the selection process, how it works and what sort of preparation there is. Our main committee consists of leading gallerists from across the world, and it is responsible for reviewing applications and selecting galleries based on the quality of booth proposals. Art Basel believes gallerists are the key players in the field and that they best know the art market, the overall gallery landscape and the regional markets. Chosen for their experience in the business and knowledge, the Selection Committee for Art Basel Miami Beach 2024 is comprised of Márcio Botner, A Gentil Carioca (Rio de Janeiro), Philippe Charpentier, mor charpentier (Paris, Bogotá), Thiago Gomide, Gomide&Co (São Paulo), Steve Henry, Paula Cooper Gallery (New York) and Wendy Olsoff, P.P.O.W. (New York).
Then, for “Nova” and “Positions,” we have three additional experts who are more like the prospective exhibitors’ immediate peers. This year, we had Kibum Kim from Commonwealth & Council (Los Angeles), Leopol Jose Maria Mones Cazon from Isla Flotante (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Nicole Russo from Chapter NY (New York).
Art Basel’s Directors appoint new Committee members. Although there is no set term, they generally stay on the Committee for five to ten years. Regarding the selection process, it’s four concentrated days of reading through material in the room and talking it out. Then, when it comes to building the floor plan and locating different sectors, this is more of an internal conversation between my colleagues at Art Basel and me. The committee is deeply involved. They genuinely care to produce the highest-quality show, which is also our mission. The committee spends a ton of time speaking with galleries of all scales, and every single one of those committee members is fielding conversations, pretty much all year round, about finding suitable projects worth presenting. The conversations are 100 percent on the project being proposed by the committee members.
In the past few years, some exhibitors and collectors have complained that Miami Art Week is becoming more about the social scene than the art. But year after year, Art Basel is a powerful catalyst for the city, leading other fairs, galleries and brands to organize events during that week. What do you think about this? How can the fair ensure that art remains the central focus for visitors?
The fair continues to attract an exceptional volume and quality of private collectors and museum institutional people. That hasn’t dissolved in any way. I think that it has just grown, right? It has expanded, and more people are interested. The number of VIPs in Miami Beach grows yearly, and I believe it grows faster in Miami than it does across the other shows. For younger people who are interested in buying art but may not yet be at that connoisseur level, Miami provides an entry point. Also, people from different industries, whether it be fashion or design, are good for expanding the interests that we’re seeing in and around contemporary art.
At the same time, we think deeply about how to bring people to the fair and how to get them back to the fair. We want you to come and come again and stay in and around the walls. It’s not a one-day event: to see everything, I think you have to go maybe three times to really enjoy and not exhaust yourself, and have conversations with the gallerists.
This year, to expand the fair’s experience, there will be performances and a very robust conversation program curated by Kim Bradley. We also have a new curator for the “Meridian” sector, Yasmil Raymond, with whom we’re so excited to work. So, there’s a lot in store for these moments of exploration, allowing people to immerse themselves in this sphere.
Art Basel Miami Beach 2024 opens in VIP preview on December 4 and 5 (First Choice) and to the public on December 5. The fair runs through December 8.
