Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 was a blast. Miami was buzzing, but whenever someone asked me, “How was Miami?” I could only answer, “How was the Convention Center?” Because when you work as a guided tour educator at Art Basel, your entire world contracts into those walls, those crowds, those artworks and the choreography of a fair that never stops. Uber prices were sky-high, traffic was impossible and despite more than 20 satellite fairs spread across the city, it was challenging to get to all of them. My week began with training on Monday and continued straight through until the crates were rolled out on Sunday evening.
One of my favorite rituals happens only after the fair closes: watching the art leave. After six days of nonstop motion, an entirely different performance begins: packing, wrapping, lifting, wheeling and sealing. This year, I watched a team of handlers dismantle Maurizio Cattelan’s monumental eagle sculpture at the Gagosian booth, a theatrical engineering feat on its own. Moments later, I saw the gentlest removal of one of the smallest works in the fair: a tiny, yet powerful, Frida Kahlo portrait, priced at $15 million, being carried out from the Weinstein Gallery space. Despite the excitement around digital art, AI and all kinds of sensory experiences, nearly every tour group asked, “Can we please see Frida?” That alone reveals the enduring, emotional gravity of a painting.
What struck me throughout the week was how clearly the fair is shifting. The Positions and Survey Sectors felt especially urgent, becoming gateways for a younger and more diverse audience, visitors, collectors and artists alike, hungry for experimentation and more expansive narratives. Galleries embraced this shift by transforming their booths into welcoming, thoughtfully designed environments. The intimidating white cube softened. Many collaborated with interior designers and artists to create spaces filled with texture, warmth, seating, books, unexpected materials and atmospheric lighting. Visitors lingered, asked deeper questions, and relaxed into the work instead of tiptoeing around it.