ArtBasel’s Essential Role in the Growth of Miami

PBS Newshour on ArtBasel Miami Beach

PBS Newshour has a great, well-rounded look at ArtBasel Miami Beach assessing its importance to artists, galleries, the City of Miami and the global art market. It’s rare piece that covers all of the bases. It doesn’t take long to watch (and you get extra points for identifying the peerless art advisor in the image above) but if you cannot take the time, here’s the vignette with Craig Robins underscoring—yet again—the imporance of art in real estate and community development:
JARED BOWEN: One of the most visible signs of change since Art Basel came to Miami is the graffiti-clad neighborhood of Wynwood, a warehouse district once avoided by locals. It’s now a magnet for gallery, studios and perhaps most of all developers.
CRAIG ROBINS, CEO, Dacra: I build neighborhoods. And to give neighborhoods a sense of place, I feel that art, design, architecture are all important components that can make a neighborhood really feel special and different.
JARED BOWEN: Collector, philanthropist and developer Craig Robins stands at the nexus of art and commerce in Miami. After helping redevelop South Beach, in the ’90s, Robins started work on a desolate site in Midtown, leveling abandoned buildings to produce a mix of high-end fashion and furniture stores, all surrounded by giant works of art and renamed the Design District.He also helped bring Art Basel to Miami.
CRAIG ROBINS: Miami has become a city where we define ourselves with culture. And you see many different examples of that. Art Basel was clearly a catalyst. There are incredible art collections in the city, and there are lots of museums that exist or are merging on a new level.