I woke up to the faint percussive sound of two empty aluminum cans clattering around on the landing outside of my hotel room window. I pulled the curtains open to verify that yes, indeed, they were cans and not an endless loop of electronic music permanently etched in my brain from the night before. I also noted that the only view from our hotel window was the gray-colored, southern wall of the hotel next door to ours.
Miami Beach defies traditional patterns of development in that there are dozens of expensive boutique or luxury hotels lining Collins Avenue like flashy beacons of glamour and celebrity, but many of them are nestled between uninspiring, budget-friendly hotels and buildings in various states of disrepair. The entire waterfront is developed, and real estate is pricey, but there are no defined clusters of nicer hotels and cheaper hotels. It’s a seemingly endless thoroughfare of high rise hotels, condos, and retail space. So, it just makes sense to stay as far south as possible, because most of the shows and art fairs are situated close to Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive.
I went to Art Basel last year and unsuccessfully tried to see everything. This year, I decided to focus my attention on the satellite art fairs and local public art. Miami’s Design District and Wynwood are both on the northern end of Miami’s urban downtown. Wynwood, just north of the Design District, is part residential and somewhat industrial, with warehouses recently converted into eclectic artist lofts, studios, and galleries.
This article appears in Dec 1-7, 2011.