Under a new director, Art Basel Miami Beach rolls out smaller stands to attract emerging galleries

Art Basel Miami Beach, whose 2023 edition is pictured here, will hold its 2024 show this December
Courtesy of Art Basel
The 283-strong gallery line-up and first details of the 2024 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB, 5-8 December) have been announced. This edition will be the first to be led by Bridget Finn, who was appointed as director of Art Basel’s US show in July last year.
Finn, who was until recently a partner of the Detroit gallery Reyes Finn, will bring her experience as a dealer and former Art Basel exhibitor to improve the fair experience of emerging and mid-size galleries.
Under her direction, ABMB will introduce an option for exhibitors to take smaller booths at cheaper prices in the main “Galleries” section. Stands of 30 sq. m to 40 sq. m are now available, priced at $895 per square meter; larger booths are priced at $1,196 per square meter. This brings the range of stand sizes for ABMB in line with Art Basel's other shows, which already offer smaller booths. Stands in other sections of the fair, which tend to feature younger galleries, are cheaper than the main section. “My lived experience as a dealer is ingrained into my approach," Finn says. "Listening to galleries is my starting point, and I am interested in innovative ways to support them."
This is the fair's first edition led by Bridget Finn, a former art dealer
Courtesy of Art Basel
Finn's is not the only fresh face to the fair. This year, 32 galleries will participate for the first time, four in the main section, and around nine each in the curated sections: Nova (younger galleries showing recent work), Positions (solo artist presentations) and Survey (for art made before 2000). This is the highest number of newcomers to the fair since 2008, according to a spokesperson. These include two Korean galleries in the main section—Baton from Seoul and Leeahn, which has spaces in Seoul and Daegu—Allen from Paris in Nova, New York’s Gordon Robichaux in Positions, and Gunia Nowik from Warsaw in Survey.
More than ten galleries that previously exhibited in Nova have graduated to the main section, including Isla Flotante (Buenos Aires and São Paulo). Its founder, Leopol Jose Maria Mones Cajon, has also been appointed this year to the fair’s selection committee.
Isla Flotante is one of 37 galleries with a space south of the US border taking part in ABMB 2024, joining Peana (Mexico City) and Mendes Wood DM (of São Paulo, Brussels, Paris and New York), among others. In the main section, 11% of galleries will be from this region. Asked whether previous editions of ABMB have adequately reflected the demographics of Miami, whose population is around 70% Hispanic and Latino, Finn says, "Miami Beach is the nexus between North America, the Caribbean and South and Central America, we have always been committed to this exchange. You will see this especially in Positions, where 60% of the galleries will be from Mexico or South America."
Major international dealerships that regularly show at the fair, such as David Zwirner, Pace and Perrotin, will return. Meanwhile, Meridians, the fair’s section for “monumental sized works”, will be curated by Yasmil Rayond, the outgoing director of the Portikus kunsthalle in Frankfurt.
The full list of exhibitors can be found here.

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