The Most Fashionable Art Basel Miami Beach Parties—So Far

It’s that time of year again! Miami is being swarmed by art connoisseurs and cool hunters from New York (for the week, Miami is New York City’s 6th borough), London, Los Angeles, and beyond. Call it their annual pilgrimage to Art Basel Miami Beach and the many other art fairs (like Nada and Untitled) simultaneously taking place this week.

It’s a week of art, officially. (Just one day into the fair, critics are buzzing about photographer Wolfgang Tillmans’s new works at David Zwirner, gallery 56 Henry’s Basel debut, and a sprawling showcase of Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Frank Gehry.) But after the art comes the parties and the after-parties. Basel offers a dizzying amount of options for those looking to clink cocktail classes and dance on the beach till the early hours of the night. On the docket for this year? White Cube’s annual rager at Soho House Miami Beach, a Gagosian fete cohosted with Positano hotel Le Sirenuse, and a Mickelane Thomas party with Janelle Monae at the Miami Beach Edition. Fashion-wise, Dior, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Ssense x Marni, and Farfetch x Dolce & Gabbana have also joined in on the fun with parties of their own. It’s a celebratory whirlwind all in the name of art; a roundup of the most fashionable fetes, below.

Wednesday

Venus Williams Hosted a Dinner with Pace Gallery

Venus Williams is not just a tennis champion; she’s a well-known patron of the arts and, thus, the perfect person to host a dinner to celebrate Art Week and, more specifically, Pace Gallery’s contributions to the fair. (At this year’s Pace booth, you’ll find contemporary artists like David Hockney and JR exhibited alongside masterworks by Alexander Calder and John Wesley.) At around 8 pm, guests gathered for a seated dinner at COTE—the Design District’s buzzy steakhouse. Pace CEO Marc Glimcher and Pace president Samanthe Rubell were among the guests, as were many artists represented by the gallery, like Hank Willis Thomas and Pace newcomer Alicja Kwade (both have pieces in the fair). It was a night where the worlds of art and sports connected—Venus’s sister Serena Williams came out to support, as did former soccer player Michael Ballack.