The Art Lover's Guide to Collecting Fine Art in FLORIDA
With its famed sandy beaches, Florida attracts over 100 million visitors every year. Among the lush landscapes, art lovers can also visit galleries, museums and art studios to discover works by artists with national and international reputations.
In December, there is no place more bursting with creativity than the Sunshine State. Thousands of visitors flock to Miami for a weeklong art experience, with individual fairs offering its own specialized view of the art world, allowing attendees to find exactly what they are looking for, or explore them all.
Art Basel Miami Beach is perhaps the most famed of these events, this year occurring December 6 through 9 at the Miami Convention Center. The American edition of the show hosts booths by leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, with significant works from masters of modern and contemporary art in all mediums on display, along with creations by a new generation of emerging artists.
Art Miami rings in its 29th edition December 4 through 9. The event has two sister fairs: CONTEXT Art Miami, which runs the same dates as the main fair, and Aqua Art Miami, happening December 5 through 9. Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami take place within the same location on Biscayne
Bay. Aqua Art Miami is located at the Aqua Hotel in South Beach, and gives collectors a chance to get their hands on new work by fresh talent.
Featuring over 140 international exhibitors from 25 countries and 60 cities, and welcoming 60,000 visitors, SCOPE Miami Beach takes place in a bespoke pavilion on the beach. The fair
is focused on emerging contemporary artists and multi-disciplinary creative works. Other Miami fairs on the docket in December include Spectrum Miami Art Show, a juried event from December 5 through 9, and PULSE Miami Beach, which happens December 6 through 9.
Based in Florida, the Palm Beach Show Group is a producer of leading fine art, antique and jewelry shows that are highlighted by both contemporary and historic works of art. February 13 through 19, the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show comes to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, which encompasses the Palm Beach Fine Craft Show, February 15 through 17. At the Naples Exhibition Center, the organization hosts the Naples Art, Antique & Jewelry Show, February 22 through 26.
Art Palm Beach and Art Boca Raton round out the major fairs in the state. Both organized by Next Level Fairs, the former takes place January 16 through 20 while the latter occurs March 14 through 18.
In Naples, the Gallery Row district will be of particular interest to art lovers. Leading galleries with nationally known artists make their home there. Hosted by Naples Art District, the ART ALIVE series is an evening with artists on the first Wednesday of every month, and select months feature a “Daytime Artistic Experience” on the third Saturday of the month.
The oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the United States, St. Augustine’s artistic roots run deep. The St. Augustine Art Association has been promoting arts in the town since 1925 and hosts a monthly First Friday
Art Walk from 5 to 9 p.m., founded by the Art Galleries of St. Augustine Group. The 54th annual
St. Augustine Art & Craft Festival takes place Thanksgiving weekend in November each year.
In Sarasota, the Palm Avenue’s First Friday Art Walk occurs monthly from 6 to 9 p.m. Members of the Palm Avenue Arts Alliance, including art galleries and other shops, open their doors to the community for events and exhibitions. The Towles Court Arts District in Sarasota hosts a Third Friday Art Walk from 5 to 9 p.m.
Organizations, events and artists throughout Florida are represented within special destination guide, including the Winter Park Paint Out, the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Light Chasers, Kerry Vosler and Terry Arroyo Mulrooney.