Today, Art Miami LLC announces the completion of a concrete slab that will house Art Miami - the city's longest-running contemporary art fair and its sister fair CONTEXT Art Miami, at their new waterfront location at One Herald Plaza in Downtown Miami. The 250,000 square-foot cement floor solidifies the fair's commitment to its new location and its continued investment in their beloved city of Miami.
This year, Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami have designed an area with new amenities that improve the guest experience, allowing visitors to spend an entire day at the fairs. To facilitate the experience, there will be six hospitality areas including a waterfront café, an indoor café, outdoor dining space, cocktail lounge, an outside cocktail deck overlooking beautiful Biscayne Bay. Both fairs will feature newly designed VIP lounges. The hospitality areas will accommodate up to 600 people at any given time.
Nestled between the Venetian Causeway and MacArthur Causeway and just east of Biscayne Boulevard, the 28th edition of Art Miami and the sixth edition of CONTEXT Art Miami will offer an unprecedented level of convenience and a renewed connectivity to the activities and collectors on Miami Beach with accessible parking, a complimentary shuttle service between fairs and UBER service for VIP ticket holders throughout the week. The waterfront location will also add to the fairs' exceptional ambience as collectors browse through more than 140 international galleries at ART Miami and more than 100 contemporary galleries at CONTEXT Art Miami.
Parking and transportation options at the new location provide more options than years past with valet parking being offered opening night, and multiple general parking garages within one city block walking distance with more than 4,000 combined parking spots. A transportation center will be set up at the front of the fair providing access for the drop off and pick up from taxis, shuttle bus service and Uber. 50 feet from the front door of the fair special parking lot will be reserved and designated as a waiting area for private black car services dropping off and picking up collectors on the move.
"The completed foundation at our new location marks a milestone for Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami as we finally have an infrastructure and long-term location that is reflective of the quality art work on exhibit for acquisition and reinforces our position during Art Week Miami and on the international stage of important art fairs in the world," said Nick Korniloff, Executive Vice President and Partner of Art Miami LLC. "As we continue to grow, we are committed to providing the best experience possible for our international attendees, participating gallerists and community partners, and our new home enables us to do just that.
This year's fair will kick off on the evening of Tuesday December 5th, with a VIP Private Preview to benefit the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), sponsored by Christie's International Real Estate. This is the sixth consecutive year that PAMM has been the fair's exclusive VIP Preview benefactor and Art Miami LLC has already donated more than $150,000 to further the museum's collection and mission. The partnership remains an integral part of Art Miami's larger commitment to the city of Miami.
As one of the top ranked international art fairs for attendance in the U.S. and second most attended globally, Art Miami attracts more than 85,000 new and established collectors, curators, museum professionals, members of the press and art world luminaries annually. Presenting the finest investment quality paintings, photography, prints, drawings, design, sculpture and video art, with works from the 20th and 21st centuries, the 2017 line-up features galleries from more than 20 different countries. The acclaimed international galleries will showcase important modern masters and blue-chip contemporary artists as well as the most sought after living artists from around the world.