2023 Art Basel Diary

This marked my third consecutive year at Art Basel, an extravagant weekend that stands as Miami's all-star celebration. Bursting with exclusive parties, captivating performances, and brand launches, it's safe to say I've grown accustomed to this luxurious escape from the chilly winters of New York City to the warm embrace of Florida.

Among the myriad events, one standout was "The Art of Hip Hop," commemorating 50 years of Hip Hop with a special performance by Fat Joe. The venue resembled a museum, adorned with rare Hip-Hop artifacts like photos, magazines, and artist clothing.

Venturing further, I explored the new BBC Icecream Store and witnessed the debut of Issue Number 2 of LeBron James' Springhill magazine. Despite the crowded venue, we navigated our way in with finesse (shout out to Tyree). The closure featured a surprise performance by the Boss himself, Rick Ross, providing an authentic Miami experience for those visiting from out of town.

The pinnacle of my Art Basel weekend was, without a doubt, witnessing Kelela's performance—an experience akin to a dream come true. Having missed her free show at Prospect Park earlier in the summer, this performance took place at the ICAM museum, my first visit there. The occasion was the grand opening of designer Dion Lee's Miami flagship store. The proximity to the goddess Kelela left me awe-struck. Apologies for the lack of photos; I promise to invest in a quality point-and-shoot camera soon. For now, check out the footage below for a glimpse into my Art Basel weekend.

Art Basel 2022 Recap

I'm so grateful to live in miami, I've been in this city for 2 years now and I have not missed a Basel yet. When I lived in NYC I used to envy people traveling from NYC and being at Art Basel circa 2013. Before heading to Miami for Art Basel I stayed in NYC for a month and I got to interview Fat Bible, Amar Bennet, and Veto Corli so make sure you check those videos out. I was out in full force hopping from event to event trying to be everywhere at once, if I could only clone myself I could have covered more ground.

Art Basel 2022 was heavily web3 influenced with companies like Meta, Solana, Friends With Benefits, and NEAR holding panels and parties to introduce new products and introduce spectators to their ecosystem. The stand out events came from META who hosted an event at the brand new SoHo House venue in Wynwood. FB popped off Meta House with in a beautiful indoor/outdoor space that contained a sprawl of open bars, t shirt printing, live paintings, and food trucks. Meta pulled out the big guns and got Doja Cat to performance, the second day included GloRilla. The second day I got to hit up the Cheetos x Rock The Bells Yacht party and drink Deleon with the homies while viewing the Miami skyline.. On Saturday we hit up the R&B party with Diddy in Overtown at The Urban, I even got to step over to Soundcloud's event where I seen JID and Smino. This was hands down my favorite Art Basel so far, I can't wait for next year, we might even put on an event who knows 👀