Art Basel in Miami to get art market's pulse

Next week, while shoppers will be dashing in and out of stores -- and caving to the pressures of the holiday season -- the art community will be feeling its own anxiety. Art Basel in Miami Beach, the top art show in the United States, kicks off on December 3, 2009. This event, the U.S. version of Switzerland's Art Basel show, will bring more than 250 art galleries from around the world, showing 20th and 21st century pieces from more than 2,000 artists. The exhibitions will be held in Miami's Art Deco District. Video, performance and public art will be on display, and collectors will have the chance to open their wallets.

The art community is pretty nervous. The market has spent the past year in a slump, with auction prices falling 70 percent or more and some collectors unable to sell their pieces, even when willing to accept such dismal prices. There are signs that the art market is recovering, but the near future is far from certain.

Interested attending? Through Ticketmaster, one-day tickets cost $35, with $55 for two days and $75 to attend the entire event (which ends on December 6, 2009). And, click here to see some of the other events that will be held alongside Art Basel.

[Painting by artist Benjamin Krell]

Filed under: Arts and Culture, North America, United States