From the Fontainebleau Miami Beach to the Miami Beach Convention Center, it was clear Miami Beach had become the center of the art world for the 20th anniversary of Art Basel.
More than a million visitors to Art Basel are expected to pass through Miami International Airport from now through Dec. 6, according to the Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"I just loved it," said Art Basel guest Alice Eiras. “There was a lot of woman empowering stuff. I think it was great."
The convention center opened to the public Thursday. Guests found more than 280 leading galleries, by some of the most popular artists from five continents.
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The artists are billed by Art Basel as masters of modern and contemporary art.
Many of the artists putting their work on display this week already call Miami home.
"There's a huge opportunity for any artist," said Miami-based artist Anna Danilov. "It's it doesn't matter if you're a super famous right now or you just started your business. You just need to do what you love."
Local
Thursday started with a VIP unveiling of a new public sculpture garden designed by local artist, Typoe.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez at the underline in Brickell for Art Basel.
By Thursday night, Ocean Drive Magazine’s annual Miami Art Week Party was underway at Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
"What we love to do is just bring a very cool group of people together with great music, great art, celebrities, beautiful people, and celebrate Miami and Miami Art Week," said Ocean Drive's Editor-in-Chief, Paige Mastrandrea.
The magazine celebrated the release of this year's December Art Issue cover, with featured a digital rendition of Gossip Girl star Evan Mock.
It was the magazine's first-ever digitally crafted cover, and was created by artist Shane ‘GRIF’ Griffin.
"Digital art has been on the up and up and up over the past couple of years," said GRIF. "And I think people are really beginning to respect it as a as an art form now and understand the nuance and the craftsmanship that goes into it. So to be able to put this on display tonight is really an amalgamation of everything that we've been, you know, building over the past couple of years."
"He constructed Evan virtually without even ever meeting him or shooting him," said Mastrandrea. "He constructed each piece of Louis Vuitton clothing that was on his body."
