Art Basel's 20th Anniversary Edition Closes with Buoyant Sales and Large Attendance

Art Basel celebrated its landmark 20th-anniversary edition in Miami Beach, signaling two decades of growth and impact by Art Basel as a cultural cornerstone in South Florida, across the Americas, and beyond. The 2022 edition – Art Basel’s largest to date in Miami Beach – brought together 282 premier galleries from 38 countries and territories, including 25 galleries participating in the fair for the first time, as well as multiple international exhibitors returning to the show after a brief hiatus.

Art Basel continued to draw an attendance of unparalleled global breadth and caliber. Leading private collectors from 88 countries across North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East visited the fair, as well as museum directors, curators, and high-level patrons from over 150 cultural organizations, including: Art Gallery of Ontario; Aspen Art Museum; The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York; The Brooklyn Museum, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville; Denver Art Museum; Detroit Institute of Arts; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; MoMA PS1, New York; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba); Museum of Fine Arts Boston; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; The New Museum, New York; Oklahoma Contemporary; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Serpentine Galleries, London; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate, London; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Reinforcing the fair’s commitment to showcasing exceptional art from the region, nearly two-thirds of this year’s participating galleries had gallery locations in North and South America, with especially strong presence of galleries from the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. The show also featured standout presentations by galleries from Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay, including newcomers Herlitzka + Faria from Barrio Norte, Paulo Kuczynski from São Paulo, and Rolf Art from Buenos Aires.

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Art Basel launched a Gift-Giving Campaign with a lead donation to the STEAM + program, whose mission is to bring active artists into the seven public schools of the city of Miami Beach. Founded in 2018, the program engages 5,000 children and teenagers every year and is administered by The Bass Museum of Art, working in conjunction with many other local institutions, including Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami City Ballet, New World Symphony, The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, Young Musicians Unite, and The Wolfsonian-FIU. UBS, Ruinart, La Prairie, Chateau D'Esclans, Valentino, Knight Foundation, and DRIFT are generously supporting this philanthropic campaign. The fundraiser will run until the end of 2022, at which time the total sum collected will be announced.

‘This year’s fair was particularly exceptional. The quality and ambition of work in the halls has arguably never been higher, sales have been reported across all sectors, and the city has been electric,’ says Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel. ‘Over the last 20 years Greater Miami has firmly become a cultural destination of the highest order, with this week cementing itself as the apex moment in the American cultural calendar. We couldn't be more excited about what the future has in store for us here.’

‘Our 20th edition was not only the largest ever, but also the strongest in terms of the absolute quality of work,’ says Marc Spiegler, the outgoing Global Director of Art Basel. ‘And it had the most diverse range of galleries and artistic voices ever present, making this show remarkably rich in discoveries. We are immensely proud of what has been achieved together with our galleries, partners, and the city's cultural community.’