Design Miami
Design Miami/ is an international design fair that provides a commercial platform for exhibiting galleries specializing in collectible design, ranging from the turn of the twentieth century to new commissions by contemporary designers. The biannual fair runs for one week and is held in Basel, Switzerland every June and in Miami, Florida, USA every December.
Galleries are selected for each show by the fair’s Gallery Committee, and the works they present at the fair are authenticated by the fair’s Vetting Committee. This process ensures the quality and authenticity of all pieces exhibited.
Design Miami's gallerists are widely considered the world's leading experts in their fields. Their discovery and promotion of designers and design pieces, whether historical or contemporary is considered a sign of excellence and great potential. Museums and collectors alike seek out this group of specialists not only as a source of rare design pieces, but also for their in-depth knowledge, rich experience and trend prediction.
In addition to the Gallery Program, Design Miami/ offers cultural programming that varies according to location, but includes in both instances Design Curio, Satellites, Collaborations and Design Talks. Unique to the Miami fair is the Design Visionary Award presented by Panerai, and an annual Pavilion Commission; while Basel's unique programming includes Design at Large and the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award.
History
Design Miami/ was co-founded by real-estate developer and collector Craig Robins in 2005 at the suggestion of Sam Keller, then Director of Art Basel. This initial edition of the fair included 12 galleries under the leadership of co-founder Ambra Medda. The fair debuted under the moniker Design .05 and took place in the Miami Design District's Moore Building. Following the success of the fair in Miami, Robins and Medda took the fair to Basel in June 2006 for the first European installment with 17 design galleries presenting in a church and adjacent theater in Basel. This was the first fair to carry the name Design Miami/ Basel.
MCH, the group that owns Art Basel, formalized its relationship with Design Miami/ by acquiring shares of the Basel edition in 2006 and the Miami edition of the fair in 2007.
Design Miami's Florida fair relocated from the Miami Design District to its current location opposite Art Basel Miami Beach in 2010. In Switzerland, the fair took up residence in Hall 5 at the Messeplatz, Basel in 2009 and later moved to its current site in Hall 1 Süd, designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron) also in Messe Basel.
Leadership
Design Miami/ is currently under the guidance of CEO Jennifer Roberts, former Executive Director of The Salon Art+Design in New York and Founding Publisher of Modern Magazine. Roberts is Design Miami’s first CEO. Rodman Primack, former Chairman of auction house Phillips, is the fair's Executive Director, following Directors Marianne Goebl, Wava Carpenter and Ambra Medda. Craig Robins remains actively involved as Design Miami's Chairman.
Gallery Committee
Design Miami's participating galleries are selected by a committee of leading experts in the design world, who assess gallery submissions and curate each fair's presenting exhibitors according to a set of rigorous criteria. This committee is made up of Clémence and Didier Krzentowski (owners of Gallery kreo), Laurence and Patrick Seguin (owners of Galerie Patrick Seguin), Pierre Marie Giraud (owner of Pierre Marie Giraud) and Suzanne Demisch (co-owner of Demisch Danant Gallery). With the exception of Pierre Marie Giraud, the committee members also represent founding galleries of the fair.
Vetting Committee
Design Miami/ invites a panel of subject experts to act as a vetting committee for each fair. The committee reviews every piece of work to be presented at the fair before the doors open to the public. This rigorous process was put into place as an assurance to collectors and to maintain Design Miami’s standard of quality.
The vetting process offers the opportunity to confirm the validity, provenance and quality of works displayed at the fair and is a condition of exhibiting at Design Miami/.
Show format and attendance
Design Miami/ takes place for 6 days in June at Hall 1 Süd, Messe Basel, Switzerland and for 6 days in Miami in a temporary structure opposite the Miami Beach Convention Center, the site of Art Basel Miami Beach. Preview Day in both venues is by invitation only and open to collectors, journalists and other VIP guests. The Preview Day is followed by public days open to the general public and accessible with purchased tickets or by invitation.
Design Miami/ 2015 welcomed 36,500 visitors during its run. Design Miami/ Basel 2015 had close to 30,000 attendees.
Pavilion Commissions
Every December, the global design fair commissions an early career designer or architect to design and build an entrance pavilion for the fair. The resulting pavilion has taken many shapes and forms, ranging from the minimalist lines of Jonathan Muecke's Design Miami Pavilion to the whimsical floating topographical Drift from Snarkitecture. Past commissions include pavilions by Formless Finder, David Adjaye, Konstantin Grcic and most recently Harvard Graduate School of Design students (The winning team was made up of Master in Architecture students Joanne Cheung, Jenny Shen, Steven Meyer, Doug Harsevoort, and Yiliu Shen-Burke. The team was advised by GSD faculty and staff members Luis Callejas (architect), Hanif Kara (engineer), Dan Borelli (exhibitions director), and Benjamin Prosky (Assistant Dean)).
Pavilion Commissions:
2015 - Harvard University Graduate School of Design: UNBUILT
2014 - Jonathan Muecke: Design Miami Pavilion (DMP)
2013 - Snarkitecture: Drift
2012 - David Adjaye: Genesis
2010 - Moorhead & Moorhead and Konstantin Grcic: Temporary Structure
2009 - Aranda Lasch
2008 - Aranda Lasch
Awards
Over the years, Design Miami/ has celebrated the world's leading design figures through a number of annual awards, starting with the Designer of the Year Award presented at the first Miami fair in 2005. The debut award was presented to architect Zaha Hadid.
Designer of the Year Award:
2012 - Vito Acconci
2011 - David Adjaye
2010 - Konstantin Grcic
2009 - Maarten Baas
2008 - Campana Brothers
2007 - Tokujin Yoshioka
2006 - Marc Newson
2005 - Zaha Hadid
Design Visionary Award
The Designer of the Year Award was replaced in Miami by the Design Visionary Award in 2014. This award is broader in its scope than the Designer of the Year, as it highlights individuals that have significantly contributed to the field of design, whether as designers, architects, collectors, critics, academics, curators or patrons of design. The first Design Visionary Award in 2014 was presented to architect, designer, collector and patron Peter Marino, followed by designer and humanitarian Yves Béhar in 2015. The 2015 award was presented by watchmaker Panerai.
Design Visionary Award:
2015 - Yves Béhar (presented by Panerai)
2014 - Peter Marino
Designers of the Future Award
In Basel, Design Miami/ has been presenting up and coming designers whose work is at the vanguard of technological innovation the Designers of the Future Award since 2006. Originally presented in collaboration with W Hotels, the award has evolved into the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award. Most recent winners include Studio Swine, Tomás Alonso and Elaine Yan Ling Ng in 2015; Seung-Yong Song, Jon Stam and Bethan Laura Wood in 2014. Other recipients of the award include Philippe Malouin, Asif Khan, mischer'traxler, Nacho Carbonell, Peter Marigold, Martino Gamper and Max Lamb.
The recipients of the 2016 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award are Yuri Suzuki, Anjali Srinivasan and Studio Brynjar and Veronika.
Designers of the Future Award:
2016 - Yuri Suzuki (UK), Anjali Srinivasan (Dubai), Studio Brynjar and Veronika (Germany)
2015 - Tomás Alonso (UK), Elaine Yan Ling Ng (UK), Studio Swine (UK)
2013 - Jon Stam (Netherlands), Seung-Yong Song (Korea), Bethan Laura Wood (UK)
2012 - Thomas Foulsham (UK), Markus Kayser (USA), Philippe Malouin (UK)
2011 - Asif Khan (UK), mischer’traxler (Austria), studio juju (Singapore)
2010 - Beta Tank (Germany), Graham Hudson (UK), rAndom International (UK), Zigelbaum & Coelho (USA)
2009 - Nacho Carbonell (Netherlands), Tomáš Gabzdil Libertiny (Netherlands), Peter Marigold (UK), Raw-Edges (UK)
2008 - Martino Gamper (UK), Max Lamb (UK), Julia Lohmann (UK/Germany), Clemens Weisshaar & Reed Kram (Germany)
2007 - Front Design (Sweden)
2006 - Established & Sons (UK)
Collaborations
Design Miami/ has established itself as a platform not only for the sale and discovery of collectible design, but also as a conduit for luxury and design-led brands to engage with audiences in the design world. The fair’s Design Collaborations program presents collaborations between brands and cutting-edge designers, presenting newly commissioned design projects at Design Miami/.
Two such companies with long-standing relationships with Design Miami/ are Audi and Swarovski, both of which have sponsored the fair for the past ten years. Audi is the Exclusive Automotive Sponsor of Design Miami/, and has presented a number of design-driven installations at the fair, including work by Konstantin Grcic, Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram, Tom Dixon and most recently Humans since 1982. Swarovski, a Main Sponsor, invests in annual commissions that highlight the company's dedication to design. Past commissions have been awarded to Jeanne Gang and James Balog and most recently Fernando Romero Enterprise (FR-EE). The crystal company supplements its annual commissions with its sponsorship of the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award in Basel.
In addition to Audi and Swarovski, Design Miami/ enjoys long-term partnerships with champagne house Perrier-Joüet, (Exclusive Champagne Sponsor), fashion brand FENDI and Furniture Sponsor Vitra. Other brands affiliated with the fair include Airbnb, American Express, and Panerai, presenting sponsor of the Design Visionary Award.