Increasingly popular over the last ten years, Art Basel has become an annual melding of artists, collectors, curators, enthusiasts, celebrities, brands, and vacationers looking to be in the mix. With its largest presence in Miami Beach to date, this year’s fair brought 282 premier galleries together to showcase works from creators of color like Hebru Brantley, Christopher Myers, Nina Chanel Abney, and Germane Barnes among others, with star sightings like Pharrell Williams, Serena Williams, and Victor Cruz among its gallery spaces.
BMW served as the official brand partner of the annual visual art celebration in and around Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood for its 2022 fair. To celebrate, the luxury brand kicked off the weekend with “Pulse Topology,” an interactive exhibit at Superblue Miami, created by Latino artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and featuring the first-ever, fully electric BMW i7 sedan.
The exhibit, a collection of 3,000 lightbulbs suspended in angular configuration, records and visualizes individual heartbeats that come together to create an immersive chorus of light and sound. Attendees were able to record their own heartbeats into the lights to join the symphony of individualism, an examination of the differences and commonalities between us all. A reflection of the interior exhibit was also mimicked through the first-ever fully-electric BMW i7 sedan, which allowed visitors to visualize visitors’ heartbeats through light, sound, and graphics as they sit inside the vehicle parked just outside the exhibit’s entrance.
In Wynwood, Prime Video celebrated the release of its sure-to-be fan-favorite Nigerian-British-American drama RICHES with “The Crown We Never Take Off,” an immersive art activation celebrating key aspects of Black beauty and hair care practices that serve as a backdrop to the interweaving family drama of the show.
Show stars Nneka Okoye, Deborah Ayorinde and Emmanuel Imani were on hand for the display of photography, sculpture, painting, music, video, and performance art from creators like Marryam Noma, Carlos Idun-Tawiah, Tammie Knight, and Morel Doucet, all curated by Donnamarie Baptiste.
In the Design District, American Express partnered with Resy to celebrate Black visual and culinary arts and a gathering of Black creators for the Miami Art Basel edition of “SAVOR & SOUL,” featuring brunch bites from chef Mashama Bailey. Influencers and personalities like Kahlana Barfield, Kelly Augustine, and Kendall Kyndall to name a few.
The afternoon also featured a discussion on the current state of Black art and artists among artist Sabrena Khadija, gallerist and collector Hannah Traore, and Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor, moderated by founder and curator of Good Black Art Phillip Collins. In addition, there was a display of art from creators Adrian Brandon, Sabrena Khadija, and Gianni Lee.
Tucked between the famed Wynwood Walls, Michelob Ultra brought together legendary NBA superstars Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton, and WNBA All-Star Nneka Ogwumike for skills challenges in an immersive experience to unveil new NBA team cans.
Fans enjoyed cocktails, Michelob Canned drinks, a Courtside Countdown Challenge between the stars on an enhanced LED court, and an eventual performance from 21 Savage as the court transformed into an art show of light and imagery to accompany the sounds and lyrics of 21’s verses from his collaborative album with Drake, Her Loss, his joint album with Metro Boomin, Savage Mode, and his solo effort, I Am > I Was.
Between its parties and activations, exhibits and experiences, sun and sand, and of course culinary experiences and star sightings, Art Basel 2022 was a memorable display of art, music, and enjoyment.