A Culture-Defining Event in Miami Beach: Swizz Beatz Hosts Art Basel Awards Night Unveiling Inaugural Class of Gold Awardees

Presented in partnership with BOSS, the landmark gathering brought together global leaders in contemporary culture for a multisensory celebration at the New World Center

WHAT

Art Basel unveiled its first class of Gold Awardees with a captivating, high-impact event at the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center, marking the culmination of the inaugural Art Basel Awards cycle. Dedicated to advancing excellence and innovation across the contemporary art ecosystem, the Art Basel Awards recognize practitioners whose work is shaping the future of contemporary culture.

Hosted by Grammy Award-winning producer Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, the evening offered guests a richly layered experience – an interplay of music, architecture, performance, gastronomy, and cross-cultural exchange. Following the program's initial milestone in Basel, Switzerland, this June, the celebration in Miami Beach reflected the breadth and ambition of the Awards program itself.

Swizz Beatz reflected on the occasion, stating: 'Hosting the inaugural Art Basel Awards was truly an honor. For the first time, the entire arts ecosystem - from artists to cultural leaders and the many people working behind the scenes around the world - was recognized on a global stage. Through The Dean Collection, we’ve always believed in championing artists, and tonight embodied that energy in the most powerful way. Being invited to lead the first edition was deeply meaningful, and I’m proud to have helped set the tone for a night that will resonate for years to come. ‘By the artist, For the artist, With the people!!’'

Honorees, guests, partners, and Art Basel leadership also remarked on their experiences of the first Art Basel Awards Night. A selection of quotes for the media is available HERE.

Guests entered an environment transformed through dynamic lighting, architectural projections and a live orchestral performance by musicians from the New World Symphony. A special performance by Kelsey Lu - bridging classical and experimental sound worlds – created the night's powerful emotional crescendo. The evening’s red carpet and after-party were hosted by cultural commentator Dylan Kelly, setting the tone for a night centered on creative exchange and cross-disciplinary dialogue.

The atmosphere and program underscored the Awards' mission to spotlight visionary cultural voices, celebrate excellence across disciplines, and position Miami Beach as a global, cross-cultural stage for contemporary creativity.

Guided by a virtual appearance from Emma D’Arcy, the ceremony honored 11 individuals and organizations selected through a unique peer-driven voting process:

Cecilia Vicuña (Icon); Nairy Baghramian and Ibrahim Mahama (Established); Mohammad Alfaraj and Saodat Ismailova (Emerging); Formafantasma (Cross-Disciplinary); Joel Wachs (Patron); RAW Material Company (Institution); Candice Hopkins (Curator); Gasworks / Triangle Network (Allies); and Negar Azimi (Media & Storytelling).

Each recipient was honored with a handmade blown-glass trophy designed by Swiss architect Jacques Herzog of Herzog & de Meuron - each uniquely formed to evoke the shape of breath -, produced in collaboration with a Basel-based foundry. Gold Awards in the artist categories confer immediate, flexible support by distributing a total of nearly USD 300,000 annually in honorariums and philanthropic gifts.

The night also marked the debut of the BOSS Award for Outstanding Achievement, recognizing exceptional cultural impact across and beyond the art ecosystem. It celebrates innovative work that inspires change, and embodies the BOSS values of boldness, personal authenticity, ambition, and responsibility. This year’s recipient is Meriem Bennani.

Following the ceremony, honorees, partners, and guests gathered for an intimate rooftop after-party featuring a DJ set by Puerto Rican-born, Miami-based DJ and producer Natalia Roth, who brought a fresh, contemporary pulse to the evening with her modern and minimal house and techno sound. Set against the Miami Beach skyline, the evening closed with guests mingling through music, conversation, and spontaneous creative exchanges, creating a vibrant, cross-disciplinary finale.

WHO

Notable attendees included leading figures from across art, design, fashion, and culture, as well as prominent voices from music and entertainment. Among them were Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, Kelsey Lu, A$AP Ferg, Khalid, and Fridayy.Additional guests included Malcolm Jenkins, Dylan Kelly, Kimberly Drew, Tyshawn Jones, LUNAY, Larsen Thompson, Paris Hilinski, Zarina Yeva, Ashley LaMarca, Angel McCoughtry, Jordan Rand, Francelys Infante, Nikki Kynard, Nasteha and Nuni Yusuf, Jimmy Akingobla, Edgar Berlanga, Maxi Peters, and Kennedy Yanko.

The evening brought together many of the art world’s most influential curators and museum leaders, including Erin Christovale, Es Devlin, Mike Winkelmann (“Beeple”), Pablo León de la Barra, Pablo José Ramírez, Ruba Katrib, Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Stefanie Hessler, Susan Lacy, Yasmil Raymond, András Szántó, and Hans Ulrich Obrist. They were joined by leading gallerists such as Alan Cristea, David Maupin, François Ghebaly, Friedrich Petzel, Gordon VeneKlasen, José Kuri, Kamel Mennour, Lorenzo Fiaschi, Marc Payot, Marc Straus, Mónica Manzutto, Nicola Vassell, Peter Freeman, Hannah Traore, Wendy Olsoff, Xavier Hufkens, Glenn Scott Wright, Rachel Lehmann, Gabrielle Richardson, and Nicola Lees.

Notable patrons and collectors in attendance included Benny Gross, Catherine Petitgas, Don and Mera Rubell, Ellen von Unwerth, Karen Boros, Komal Shah, Larry Ossei-Mensah, Nicolai Frahm, Nicolas Berggruen, Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile, Susan Hort, and Gardy St. Fleur.

Art Basel leadership was represented by Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel, and Vincenzo de Bellis, Chief Artistic Officer and Global Director of Fairs, together with Bridget Finn, Director, Art Basel Miami Beach, Maike Cruse, Director of Art Basel in Basel, Angelle Siyang-Le, Director of Art Basel Hong Kong, Karim Crippa, Director of Art Basel Paris, and Carly Murphy, Global Head of Collector and Institutional Relations.

Read the full press release here.

WHERE:

New World Center, Miami Beach

WHEN:

Thursday, December 4, 2025
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

IMAGES:

Event photography available HERE.
Courtesy of Getty, Photographed by Demetrios Kambouris.
Additional images, video, and assets available upon request.

The Art Basel Awards are presented in partnership with BOSS. The Art Basel Awards Night is supported by the City of Miami Beach and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and the after party is supported by our event partner Perro Verde Mezcal.

Art Basel Awards Gold Awardees 2025

ICON ARTIST

• Cecilia Vicuña

ESTABLISHED ARTISTS

• Nairy Baghramian

• Ibrahim Mahama

EMERGING ARTISTS

• Mohammad Alfaraj

• Saodat Ismailova

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY CREATORS

• Formafantasma

PATRONS

• Joel Wachs

INSTITUTIONS

• RAW Material Company

CURATORS

• Candice Hopkins

ALLIES

• Gasworks / Triangle Network

MEDIA AND STORYTELLERS

• Negar Azimi

BOSS AWARD for Outstanding Achievement

• Meriem Bennani

–

In loving memory of Koyo Kouoh (December 24, 1967 – May 10, 2025)
Art Basel Awards is deeply grateful for Koyo's spirited participation as a Juror of this year's edition and her unwavering commitment to the Awards' mission to uplift the next generation of cultural changemakers, of which she was emblematic. The Awards honor Koyo's life and carry forward her enduring example and legacy.

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025

Where the Pulse of the Americas Meets the World Stage

The 23rd edition unites 283 leading galleries from 43 countries, foregrounding the voices, histories, and innovations that define the American art scene today — within a truly global conversation.

Art Basel Miami Beach returns to the Miami Beach Convention Center this December, platforming the most vital artistic currents of the Americas and beyond. Now in its 23rd edition, the fair presents 283 galleries, including 49 first-time participants, affirming its position as the premier meeting point for Modern and contemporary art in the Western Hemisphere. The show runs December 4–7, 2025, with Preview Days on December 3–4, and its Global Lead Partner is UBS. Tickets are available at artbasel.com/miami-beach/buy-tickets. 

"Art Basel Miami Beach stands at the intersection of culture and the market — a platform where artistic vision and economic energy converge to define what comes next," said Bridget Finn, Director, Art Basel Miami Beach. "Each edition responds to the urgency and ambition of its moment while laying groundwork for the future. In 2025, we bring together exceptional galleries, artists, and patrons in an environment defined by rigor, exchange, and possibility." 

As the premier fair of the Americas, Art Basel Miami Beach offers a panoramic view of the region’s artistic production within a global framework, underscoring the dialogue between North and South America and their shared histories of migration, innovation, and cultural cross-pollination — in conversation with Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. This year’s edition highlights Latinx, Indigenous, and diasporic practices and re-examines Modernism through a trans-hemispheric lens, from mid-century masters to contemporary voices remapping the canon. 

"The 2025 edition foregrounds the multiplicity of American art — not as a single narrative but as a constellation of perspectives," said Vincenzo de Bellis, Chief Artistic Officer and Global Director of Fairs, Art Basel. "From Indigenous modernisms to emergent diasporic practices and digital forms, the fair traces how artists throughout the Americas continue to reshape global artistic imagination."

Across its core sectors — Galleries, Positions, Nova, and Survey — the fair presents Modern and contemporary work of the highest caliber, reflecting an expanded commitment to curatorial depth, geographic breadth, and historical rediscovery. Meridians returns as the curatorial epicenter under Yasmil Raymond with the theme The Shape of Time, and a revitalized Conversations program brings artists, collectors, and thinkers together for three days of live debate and visionary exchange — opening with a full day devoted to art and sport with celebrated athletes and featuring the return of daily Digital Dialogues. 

Curated by Eli Scheinman, Art Basel’s Zero 10 debuts in Miami Beach as a new platform for art of the digital era, before expanding to select Art Basel fairs in 2026. Presented with the support of OpenSea, the initiative connects leading and next-generation artists, studios, galleries, and digital innovators with Art Basel’s global curatorial and market ecosystem. Featuring 12 international exhibitors in its inaugural edition, Zero 10 establishes a new benchmark for how digital art is exhibited, contextualized, and collected today. 

The edition also marks the U.S. premiere of the Art Basel Awards, presented in partnership with BOSS, and the unveiling of the inaugural Gold Awards on Thursday, December 4. Honoring 11 outstanding practitioners and institutions across visual art and adjacent creative fields, the Awards celebrate excellence, innovation, and collaboration within the global contemporary art ecosystem. Conceived as a platform for creative achievement and cross-disciplinary dialogue, the initiative reflects Art Basel’s commitment to championing visionary figures shaping the future of art and culture. 

Alongside these initiatives, a constellation of partnerships across fashion, design, technology, and hospitality underscores Art Basel’s role as a catalyst for artistic discovery and collaboration — strengthening the cross-disciplinary networks that sustain and propel the world’s most dynamic art market. 

In 2025, Art Basel Miami Beach articulates a vision of the Americas as a living laboratory of creative dialogue — a place where histories are re-examined, boundaries blurred, and new voices rise to meet the future. It is an edition defined by ambition, depth, and renewal — a snapshot of art’s ever-shifting shape in our time. 

Discover this year’s standout presentations, programs, and initiatives, click link.

At Art Basel Paris, dive into the heart of Takashi Murakami’s whimsical universe

On the Grand Palais’ majestic Balcon d’Honneur, Louis Vuitton presents a new installation by the Japanese artist celebrating the launch of their new Artycapucines collection.  Learn more. ▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|

Connecting Legacy and the Avant-Garde in the Grand Palais

The second edition of Art Basel Paris, held at the majestic Grand Palais, cemented its position as a major cultural event, successfully deepening its ties with the city's historical legacy and its distinctive cross-disciplinary spirit. Concluding on October 26, 2025, the show attracted significant global attention, reporting a total attendance exceeding 73,000 visitors throughout its VIP and public days.

The atmosphere in Paris was charged, reflecting the city’s palpable avant-garde spirit throughout the venue. Director Clément Delépine noted that the show felt like it had truly found its rhythm at the Grand Palais, strengthening its connection with the city.

Focusing squarely on arts and culture, the fair featured 206 leading international galleries from 41 countries and territories, including 65 operating spaces in France. The exhibitions, spread across three core sectors—Galeries, Emergence, and Premise—demonstrated a commitment to comprehensive historical and contemporary coverage.

The artistic diversity on display was impressive, ranging from historical and blue-chip masters to groundbreaking contemporary voices and exciting emerging talents. Highlights included presentations of works by Peter Paul Rubens, such as The Virgin and Christ Child, with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist (circa 1611-14), presented by Gagosian, alongside pieces by Edgar Degas and Meret Oppenheim. High-profile sales were also reported for works by figures such as Amadeo Modigliani and Gerhard Richter.

Crucially, the fair celebrated canon-expanding rediscoveries. These included works by Hector Hyppolite, Ella Bergmann-Michel, and Dadamaino, as well as Marie Bracquemond and Lee ShinJa. This emphasis on uncovering overlooked historical figures contributed significantly to the show's cultural depth.

The contemporary landscape was equally robust, featuring established names such as Julie Mehretu, Latifa Echakhch, Otobong Nkanga, Ai Weiwei, and Xie Lei, alongside Leiko Ikemura. Furthermore, the vitality of the emerging arts scene was evident through new voices such as Yu Nishimura, Özgür Kar, Ash Love, Precious Okoyomon, and Monia Ben Hamouda. This layered approach reflects the overall depth and diversity of gallery programs showcased at the Grand Palais.

Global Institutional Engagement

The success of the 2025 edition was amplified by profound institutional engagement. Art Basel Paris welcomed representatives from over 240 museums and foundations worldwide. This list included prestigious institutions across the globe, such as the Musée du Louvre and Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate and Serpentine Galleries, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA PS1, the Guggenheim Museum, M+ Hong Kong, and the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. The attendance of leading art patrons and private collectors spanning France, Europe, the Americas, and Asia further underscored the fair's global influence.

Bridging Art and Creative Industries

Adding a vital cultural dimension beyond the main fair halls, the show's ambitious Public Program returned with activations across nine storied venues throughout Paris. This initiative specifically underlined the necessary bridge between the show and adjacent creative industries.

A standout feature of the week was the return of "Oh La La! - Art Basel Paris' creative re-hanging initiative". For its second edition, this initiative was placed under the artistic direction of fashion journalist Loïc Prigent. This cross-disciplinary collaboration, supported by Miu Miu as the Public Program Official Partner for the second year, highlights the show's deep commitment to fostering connections across cultural fields.

Looking ahead, Art Basel Paris is poised for continued influence, particularly with the appointment of Karim Crippa as Director starting November 1, 2025. Crippa is tasked with leading the show into its next chapter and consolidating its standing as one of Europe’s most dynamic platforms for modern and contemporary art.

Upcoming Art Basel shows

Miami Beach, December 5–7, 2025

Qatar, February 5-7, 2026

Hong Kong, March 27-29, 2026

Basel, June 18–21, 2026

Art Basel announces Karim Crippa as director of Art Basel Paris

This month, the global art community turns its attention to Paris following the announcement that Karim Crippa has been appointed as the new director of Art Basel Paris. Taking up the role effective November 1, 2025, Crippa is tasked with leading the show into its next phase, focusing on consolidating its position as one of Europe’s most dynamic platforms for modern and contemporary art.

Crippa is well-known within the organization, having served previously as Head of Communications for Art Basel Paris and Senior Editor at Art Basel globally. His career foundation lies at the intersection of communications, digital culture, content production, and the visual arts. Art Basel leadership has recognized his deep commitment to the sector, noting that he combines "a curator’s eye, a communicator’s precision, and a profound understanding of what makes Paris such a vital city for contemporary art".

Working alongside General Manager Virginie Aubert and Deputy Director Maxime Hourdequin, Crippa will steer the strategic and artistic direction of the fair, shape its programming, and further its collaboration within the city’s institutions and wider cultural ecosystem. Crippa expressed his commitment to advancing the exceptional show and remaining a tireless advocate for the city of Paris, its exhibitors, and partners.

Art Basel Miami Beach Unveils 2025 Gallery Lineup

Get ready for the most anticipated art event of the year!

Art Basel is pleased to announce the exhibitor list for its 2025 edition in Miami Beach, featuring 281 premier galleries—including 41 making their debut. Representing 43 countries and territories, the fair remains a vital platform for discovering exceptional works by Modern masters, postwar icons, leading contemporary practitioners, and emergent voices.

This year’s edition will foreground the most urgent artistic currents shaping the American scene today, with a particular focus on Latinx, Indigenous, and diasporic positions. Reflecting Miami Beach’s unique position at the crossroads of North and South America, the fair offers a panoramic view of the region’s creative influence within a global context.

Don't miss this opportunity to experience the best of contemporary art and connect with the global art community! For more information, visit Art Basel's official website.

Social Buzz & Trends

Basel June 19 – 22, 2025

Launching alongside the first edition of the Art Basel Awards, the Art Basel Awards Summitconvenes the most influential voices in the global art world and adjacent creative industries. Organized in short, dynamic sessions, this high-profile event is designed to spotlight innovation and is set to become an unmissable event in the art world calendar. Learn more.

The 2024 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach is now over, what a week of art it has been! In case you missed it!

Art Basel Miami Beach ends on high note with solid sales across all sectors

...and we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you to our community for your continued commitment to art, and we’ll see you soon for #ArtBaselHongKong! 🇭🇰 ACCA is delighted to be awarded press accreditation for Art Basel in Miami Beach 2024.

Style at Art Basel Miami Beach

Courtesy of Art Basel and ACCA

SECTORS

MERIDIANS 2024

Ben Brown Fine Arts  José Parlá

Galería Casado Santapau  Antonis Donef

Fredric Snitzer Gallery  Land Art Forward

Gagosian  Rachel Feinstein

Galerie Thomas Schulte  Alice Aycock

Gallery Baton  Yuichi Hirako

Gallery Nosco  Isabelle D.

Kalfayan Galleries  Antonis Donef

Marianne Boesky Gallery  Sarah Meyohas

The Modern Institute  Yuichi Hirako

P.P.O.W  Portia Munson

Pearl Lam Galleries  Zhu Jinshi

Piero Atchugarry Gallery  Guillermo Garcia Cruz

Rolf Art  Roberto Huarcaya

Ruth Benzacar Galeria de Arte  Chiachio & Giannone

Skarstedt Yuan Fang

Tina Kim Gallery Lee ShinJa

Van de Weghe Franz West

Venus Over Manhattan  Anastasia Bay

2024 participating galleries

Galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia make up the list of participants in the Miami Beach show.

Other Sectors & Galleries

ISSUE 25 AVAILABLE

In this 25th edition of the ACCA Journal, we are honored to shine a spotlight on outstanding artists and entrepreneurs who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields. Read the Issue. Purchase the Issue.