MIAMI, FL — Art Basel Miami Beach started in 2002, though it has a much different look today than it did at its inception.
As the event gained popularity, ancillary events, such as Miami Art Week and a bevy of VIP parties, embed themselves alongside the original fair. It wasn’t until around 2016 that celebrities and star professional athletes began to flood Miami at the level that they do today.
Whether you are a first-time Art Basel attendee or a veteran of the festivities, you should enter the week with a game plan.
Jennifer Ford, who has been involved in the Miami art scene since Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade delivered a title to the Miami Heat in the mid-2000s, is among those helping to navigate the event.
Ford, whose TikTok page is filled with day-by-day breakdowns of the exhibits, events, and VIP parties, took to the platform after years of helping friends and associates organize the week’s chaos on a person-by-person basis.
“I just want to help people have a good time at the event,” said Ford. “The traffic [during Art Basel week] is going to handicap people from seeing everything and getting to all the events, so if I can help organize schedules then I’ve done my job.”
Art Basil and Miami Art Week are as popular as ever, partially due to high-profile attendees but also due to the integration of different audiences into the scene, such as sports-related exhibits and events.
Derek Jeter, Stefon Diggs, and Lionel Messi are among the current and former professional athletes who have exhibits on display in 2024.
Ford tells FortyEightMinutes that she believes the intersection of sports and art at Art Basel and Miami Art Week will “only continue to expand.”
5 Sports-Related Exhibits at Art Basel and Miami Art Week 2024
FortyEightMinutes hopes to help you prepare for sports-related happenings at Art Basel and Miami Art Week in 2024. Here is a list of popular exhibits:
Derek Jeter’s pop-up event
Located with the Context Art Miami fair, Jeter’s pop-up exhibit features signature pieces that celebrate the former Yankee’s career.
Artists come together to form Sports Art Exhibition
Hosted by Wynwood-based art gallery OG4ever, the Sports Art Exhibition gathers a collection from seven artists—each of whom will be in Miami for the showing.
Among the 25 pieces of artwork on display is a Michael Jordan “The Wings” painting, which integrates a piece of the Chicago Bulls home court signed by Jordan into the project.
Artist Tyrrell Winston’s deflated basketball exhibition
Tyrrell Winston is best known for his basketball wall sculptures and his work in 2024 transforms discarded objects, such as deflated basketballs, into thought-provoking exhibits.
“Winston believes that forgotten objects retain both energy and meaning, serving as records of human experience,” Liberty Street Collectives writes in a press release.
“Furthering his fascination with found materials, Winston repurposed outdoor bleachers in his work commissioned for the MSU Broad Art Museum, Everything is Won Before It Has Begun, bending aluminum into an industrial bouquet. By reimagining a sporting accessory as a modern monolith, the piece symbolizes resurrection, breathing new life into what was once discarded. Winston’s assemblages encourage reflection on permanence, connection, and the consequences of neglect, offering a poignant commentary on our relationship with the material world.”
The NFL celebrates emerging artists in inaugural Artist Replay gallery
The National Football League celebrated emerging artists with an inaugural first-of-its-kind Artist Replay gallery during Art Basel in Miami on December 7, 2024. The exclusive event highlighted the NFL Artist Replay program, an initiative designed to amplify the work and voices of emerging artists throughout the season and connect the NFL’s rich culture with the broader arts community. The gallery event drew a VIP crowd that enjoyed a curated gallery featuring the artwork from the Artist Replay collective, immersive sounds from DJ Osh Kosh, a Starter customization embroidering lounge, and more.
The NFL selected renowned photographer Cam Kirk to curate the Artist Replay program and gallery. Known for his prominent work with artists like Megan Thee Stallion and Migos, Kirk, 35, used the NFL program to highlight five emerging artists inspired by the world of football.
The artists selected by Kirk for the 2024 Artist Replay program and gallery event included contemporary visual artist Cristina Martinez, painter Julian Gaines, illustrator and designer Sophia Yeshi, sculptor Murjoni Meriweather, and oil painter Mike Ham.
