Switzerland, Paris, Miami Beach and Hong Kong: Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Art Basel
Welcome to The Director’s Cut, an interactive column featuring fashion, beauty and career advice from RGNN Director and Founder, @isabelevabohrer.
The Superbowl of the art world. Art Basel. That’s what art market Magnus Resch has termed it. And 91,000 visitors came to see it all in Switzerland last week.
The 2024 edition brought together 285 galleries from 40 countries and territories, 22 of the galleries being first-time participants. In fact, it’s a year of firsts for the fair as a whole; Maike Cruse was appointed Director of Art Basel, and Stefanie Hessler, Director of the Swiss Institute New York for the first time curated the Parcours, a temporary art display throughout the city of Basel. But not only that; internationally, Paris+ par Art Basel is officially being rebranded as Art Basel Paris, opening at the Grand Palais in the French capital in October this year. Louis Vuitton is playing along, too, publishing one of their travel guides on Basel this year, the first-ever Swiss city to be including in the brand’s city guide series.
So the Superbowl term really is not an understatement. Leonardo DiCaprio frequently stops by to buy art,- he covets the canvases of Jean-Michel Basquiat,– both at the Swiss and the US edition. And if you do a quick search for “Art Basel” on TikTok, you will see Kim and Khloé Kardashian strutting through the Miami edition back in 2022, along with big influencer names like Alix Earle. And I am not even mentioning all the museum curators, collectors and art experts that flock to Art Basel editions worldwide every year; it is, after all, an art fair to sell art before it opens to the general public.
Do you, too, want to plan your visit? Here is everything you need to know.
Choose your fair
Art Basel has editions throughout the world, including the following. The first few days are always for VIPs and by invitation only, and then the fairs open to the public.
- Basel, Switzerland. The original fair. 2025 dates will be announced soon.
- Paris, France. Upcoming dates: October 18, 2024 to October 20, 2024. VIP/invitation only from October 16, 2024 to October 17, 2024.
- Miami, Florida. Upcoming dates: December 6, 2024 to December 8, 2024. VIP/invitation only from December 4, 2024 to December 5, 2024.
- Hong Kong. 2025 dates will be announced soon.
@isabelevabohrer Just kidding, I really love my job – this is one of the artworks I saw at Art Basel for work. FYI – the female gorilla is an animatronic sculpture by Ryan Gander, her name is Brenda #artbasel #artbasel2024 #artbaselswitzerland @Art Basel @ROOSTERGNN Global News Network ♬ Kourtney Kardashian – christine
Tips for making the most of your visit
- Tickets can be purchased online at artbasel.com. Download them on your phone to save time when entering the fair.
- Book your hotel in advance. The fairs attract a lot of visitors and prices can double and triple.
- The same goes for restaurant reservations, especially in Paris and Miami. Book in advance if you want to go to popular restaurants. You can also find food options on site for a quick bite.
- Wear comfy shoes – the fairs are big and there’s lots of walking to be done. The after parties (hello, Art Basel Miami) are a different story.
- There’s a coat check on site, but if the weather permits, I personally would not recommend coming with a huge backpack or big coat. The same goes for a tripod – bring an Octobuddy instead (or a friend to take photos of you!). Also, keep in mind that security guards will inspect your bags upon entering and exiting the fair at all times, so take a bag that you can open up easily.
- Do some research ahead of time. You can show up at the fair and just see what they have. Or, if you look into what galleries/artists are going to be on display, you can go directly to those booths. In Switzerland, for example, the fair is divided into two halls: the general galleries, featuring more established artists, and “Art Basel Unlimited,” which features newer, slightly more provocative works. You can go in either order; I personally would recommend seeing the “Unlimited” section first – the best opportunities for photos/selfies are also here so get there early before the crowd fills up. If you are visiting after the press has already published coverage of the fair, you can also Google/search on Instagram for the kinds of photos you want to take ahead of time.
- The same goes for finding out what else is going on in the city you have chosen. In Basel, for example, you can find an entire Parcours, or itinerary of art installations throughout the city, specifically curated during Art Basel. Some tickets may also include complimentary access to other museums in the area – my personal recommendation is to cross over to Germany, just 10 minutes by car, to the Vitra Design Museum.
- Bring your passport. This might be obvious, but if you are planning to cross over from Switzerland to Germany and vice versa, for example, you will need your passport.
@isabelevabohrer Another fashion rule I just don‘t follow 🤷♀️ #minidress #blazerdress #louboutin #louboutinsokate #hermesnoir #hermeskelly #hermeskelly32 ♬ paramore still into you DISCO LINES REMIX – discolines
Fashion lovers, listen up
- If you are interested in fashion and art, go for the Miami Beach edition. Fashion brands frequently put on pop-ups, events and after parties throughout these dates. The idea is to visit the fair during the day and then head to an after party at night.
- But it’s not all about the party in Miami; take advantage of being surrounded by designers, models, photographers, stylists, buyers and more to network and take your career to the next level!
- A selection of the fashion events in Miami are invite only, but others are open to the public. Some of them, such as Cartier’s “Time Unlimited” exhibition in Miami stayed open until December 22, 2023, so even if you cannot make it to Art Basel on the specific fair dates, you might still be able to catch a glimpse a few days/weeks afterwards.
- And last but not least, for some inspo on what to wear check out my street style videos on TikTok here.
@isabelevabohrer Replying to @Helzbells Just spotted this one at Art Basel – styling makes such a difference in terms of putting your spin on an item everyone might be wearing 😘 #espadrilles #alpargatas #streetstyle #artbasel #artbasel2024 #artbaselswitzerland ♬ I Like It – Cardi B & Bad Bunny & J Balvin
@isabelevabohrer Fuzzy bags, colorful besties, cut outs and more at Art Basel 🎨👗👠 #artbasel #streetstyle #artbaseloutfit #artbasel2024 #whattoweartoartbasel ♬ MGMT Kids TECHNO REMIX – Old Jim
Thank you, Art Basel, for inviting us.
