Basel on the Beach

Staff -- Interior Design, 11/1/2002 12:00:00 AM

Florida heats up in December when Art Basel Miami Beach, the long-awaited sequel to Switzerland's highly successful annual fair, comes to town. (A 2001 debut was canceled after September 11.) Based at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the event will feature about 150 of the world's top modern and contemporary dealers, from Basel's own Galerie Beyeler to London's Victoria Miro Gallery and the Gagosian Gallery of New York, London, and Beverly Hills. Emerging players will also get an opportunity to exhibit—right on the beach, no less, in innovative booths that are actually climate-controlled refitted shipping containers. This satellite container village, designed by Steinmann & Schmid of Basel, is joined by other off-site projects, including a video lounge by U.S. avant-garde architecture firm Lo/Tek and a sculpture exhibit in Collins Park. Crossover events in film, fashion, and architecture are planned as well. Bring your sunglasses. December 5-8; 305-674-1292; artbasel.com.