MIAMI – Art Basel is an oasis for the artistic – the traditional, new, and aspiring collector; the fashionista; the aficionado of exceptional songs and musicians; and lovers of culture at its finest.
Art Basel is the rare collision of many worlds and people from many places, in celebration of art. It is a critical moment when the unity of diversity is a mosaic itself, with the crashing of waves along the shore of Miami’s South Beach as the backdrop. The contrast of the colors, languages, art and styles perfectly complement each other.
Art Basel is an international art fair with three shows, including one hosted annually in Miami in early December with over 70,000 attendees. This year more than last year, black art and culture emerged as a distinguished piece of the Basel montage. It may be possible that the black experience has awakened us all, given the context and climate of America, but this heightened awareness enriched our journey at Art Basel. It challenged us to reflect upon the role of black art as an asset to our community – one of social and economic value.
Though traveling to the coasts are a frequent endeavor of ours, never have we experienced such a dynamic unity of so many worlds in a single setting. We kicked off the trip with a night on the sands of South Beach, enthralled by the live work of Shantell Martin, British-born mixed-race visual artist, as the backdrop of a live and intimate set performed by Kendrick Lamar. It was an opportunity to celebrate the creativity of those who we can identify with – in age, race and experiences – come to life right before our eyes.
“The location has an effect on my art,” Shantell Martin said. “The audience has an effect on my art. The space is as relevant to the art as the art is to the space.”
Lamar sang Martin’s praises: “Her art has layers and, when you break my music down, it has layers. So it’s a great hand-in hand experience.”
The journey throughout Basel continued to unfold as we encountered and engaged with so many folks who looked like us, yet were distinguished by their individual creativity. We experienced black culture – men and women, sounds and visuals, food and clothes, dialogue and dance – that was brilliant, bold, and authentic. It was a reunion of sorts, one in which we stumbled across family whom we didn’t know existed, but were glad we met.
There are very few other places where you will you be able to support such a critical mass of black artists, both up and coming creatives and timeless icons. Our support of their work matters. Our presence, our celebration of, and our investment in their pieces as assets is necessary. Their works of art are an asset to us and them.
These artists – Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kehinde Wiley, Shantell Martin, Hebru Brantley, Tomashi Jackson and names who are not yet mainstream – capture the black experience with truth of our shared pain, hope and beauty. Support of such artists validates that their creativity matters and that our stories deserve to be told in color and on canvas, justifying the sustainability of a continued platform for artistic expression.
This year, Prizm, one of the more prominent fairs at Art Basel, focused on how Africa has a broader impact on global culture through music, visual art, and food.
“My goal when I started the art fair was to, in fact, encourage young people to (and particularly young, African-American and African-descent collectors) to really start to consider art as a means of personal wealth management building,” said Mikhaile Solomon, founder and Director of Prizm.
“But not to collect just for the sake of that – understanding that when you do purchase art you are also adding to your own legacy. Initiatives like Prizm definitely help.”
Our purchases of their works advances their ability to sustain as professional artists, and what we pay today may be well below what they will be worth 10-15 years from now.
We left inspired by who we are, we who we are becoming, the power of our individual and collective creative genius, and the impact that our diverse canvasses can have if we are unified towards a shared vision for building social, cultural, and economic wealth. There is no need for us to play small; we must be inspired by our innate artistic power and always let art remind us of who we are – bold, brilliant, honest, and beautiful.
