Inside New Director Bridget Finn’s Vision for Art Basel Miami Beach
Portrait of Bridget Finn. Courtesy of Art Basel.
It’s the largest art fair in the western hemisphere, its parties are the stuff of legend, and it pretty much guarantees its guests some December sun: There are more than a few reasons why Art Basel Miami Beach is a much-cherished event for the international art world set.
First started in 2002, the fair now occupies a prime position in a week stuffed with art world activity (more than 10 fairs now take place during the week). The 2024 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, which features some 286 exhibitors, will also be the first under the directorship of Bridget Finn.
When she got the job, Finn was already a familiar face to many in the U.S. gallery circuit. Her career thus far includes stints at tastemaking names Anton Kern Gallery and Mitchell Innes & Nash, and in 2017 she co-founded the much-beloved Reyes | Finn in Detroit with business partner Terese Reyes.
It’s this experience in small and mid-size commercial galleries that makes Finn’s appointment such a savvy one for the mega-fair, bringing an understanding of the unique needs and nuances that apply to different segments of the art industry. Artsy spoke to Finn about her background in the art world, how to welcome new collectors into an event that can be intimidating, and what visitors to Miami Beach can expect from this year’s event.
Exterior view of Art Basel Miami Beach. Courtesy of Art Basel.
Can you talk about your decision to leave the gallery world and join Art Basel?
It was not like, “Okay, I’m exiting the gallery landscape.” Many of us spent a lot of time post-COVID thinking through our ambitions and strengths. Personally, I felt that I would be perhaps most useful in a capacity of this nature. Also at this point, I’ve been a professional in this industry for such a long time that you kind of transition into these new experiences. And you take everything with you along the way: people you’ve worked with, the connections made. It becomes a beautiful, evolving narrative.
To be able to run Art Basel in Miami Beach with that set of experiences is super gratifying. It’s also extremely helpful in terms of shaping the direction of the show around the needs of the galleries.
How has it been going since you joined Art Basel last summer?
It has been fast-paced, it’s been great. Of course, the program for 2023 was set by the time I joined, so I was there in more of a learning capacity and supporting the team. We work on a year-long cycle, but if you’re attempting to put something in place that is new, if you are changing something significant, it needs to be considered well before the show so that you can make those decisions in a collaborative way. There are a lot of moving pieces to this, as you can imagine.
Interior view of Art Basel Miami Beach 2023. Courtesy of Art Basel.
What are some of the main ways that your background has informed your role here?
Having worked across different gallery programs and understanding the differing challenges across different scales, geographies, and moments in terms of artists’ careers…those nuances mean that you need to appease a broad cross-section of needs within one show.
We’ve rolled out a smaller booth option for galleries who are interested. You don’t have to be new to apply for that size, anyone can apply. So you’ll see galleries who will have that smaller booth size that are from Europe, or maybe have a more emerging program that allows them to have an equitable decision in terms of price point as they think about their own needs and scaling their business.
In addition to that, Art Basel Miami Beach is the largest art fair in North America, which is the most robust market in the world. To that, we also want to offer galleries who want maximal space to bring a significant amount of inventory, to be able to show the depth of their program in their booth.
Were there particular challenges you had in mind when you took the role that you wanted to address when it came to small galleries at art fairs?
It’s thinking about user experience. What can we do to deliver the best show possible to our clients? We took great care in the smaller booth size with the sliding scale.
Also, we are tailoring Nova and Positions—our two most emerging sections—to think about the greater connectivity of those sectors within the show floor. This year, you’ll see a change where Meridians, which is our large-scale monumental sculpture sector, sits like a crown jewel on the show floor. It will act as a great connector between Nova and Positions and the main Galleries sector. It’ll all be very fluid and connected, and the UBS lounge will also now be sited behind Positions, so that will also inherently bring a high-net-worth clientele to that section of the show.
Something I think about a lot, especially in terms of this being our show in the Americas, is entry points for new buyers, and how to make them feel comfortable…feeling like they can be a part of this. Because we all know the art world can be intimidating.
Interior view of Art Basel Miami Beach 2023. Courtesy of Art Basel
What are you doing for 2024 that you hope will attract these new collectors?
We have multiple levels of engagement at the show. The Conversations program is really about getting people more information on topics that are critical in the art world right now. So if you are new to collecting and you are interested, I highly suggest looking at all of the programs we offer.
We have the Art Basel shop. They have really interesting activities that will happen in the public lounge throughout the week. We really think Miami is unique in that way: Miami Beach lights up as this cultural connection place that brings together fashion, tech, and music. Within that, there is really something for everyone to engage with.
How would you describe your vision for the fair more broadly?
The fact that the show is placed in Miami Beach was very intentional from its inception 22 years ago: It really is the nexus between North, South, and Central America. The show, year on year, is reflective of that. We have 19 galleries coming from Brazil this year. It’s our third-largest VIP demographic, and we are always working to encourage that.
In terms of my future goals for the show, I’m continuing to look at structures of support that we can bring to both emerging collectors and to our galleries. Finding ways for everyone to find their place and succeed within the hustle and bustle of the show is incredibly important. The way I have chosen to approach that this year is to look at what can be refined, and how we can improve on the beautiful machine that Art Basel Miami Beach is.
Interior view of Art Basel Miami Beach 2023. Courtesy of Art Basel.
Are there any highlights you would like to point out to Artsy readers who are attending the fair?
I would say Yasmil Raymond curating Meridians is going to be incredible. She has a history of working with monumental sculpture, and she’s bringing a unique vantage point. We’ll have 17 works in the sector that have beautiful touchpoints to the Venice Biennale. It’s an incredibly international group of artists and galleries that are participating in that sector, which is also quite exciting.
There’s such a broad scale of projects coming to [the curated section] Kabinett that are very thoughtful and I’m extremely excited.
Meredith Rosen Gallery has now moved into the Galleries sector and will be hosting a performance with Charlemagne Palestine in its booth on Thursday [December 5th], at 6:30 p.m. It will be a beautiful piano piece…I think that will be incredibly special.
Miami Beach is such a huge event, with so much going on. Do you have any survival tips for visitors with packed itineraries?
Plan in advance. Try to get a handle on what your goals are for the trip before you arrive in Miami. I always think if you lay it out, you’ll know what you can tackle. Also, I would say plan to come back to Art Basel Miami Beach on multiple days. It is not possible to do it in one day…we have 286 galleries, so it will be worth coming back to see more than once.
