The first Art Basel venue Terry and I went to was the Sea Fair on board the luxury yacht “Grand Lux” (100 Chopin Plaza Bay front Park South Dock Downtown Miami, FL). SeaFair offers a venue through which the world’s finest galleries are
able to deliver art to collectors’ doorsteps in a unique, self-contained
ultra-luxury seagoing venue. I sketched while Terry scouted out the galleries. Once my sketch was done, she showed me her favorite pieces. My favorite was a sketch done on a wrinkled up piece of paper. The wrinkles were incorporated into a large graphite drawing of an old man’s face.
Sea Fair is the world’s first mobile mega yacht venue. The $40 million
custom-built yacht was designed by internationally acclaimed yacht
designer Luiz De Basto. At 228 feet and 2,800 international tons, it is
the largest ship built for commercial operation on the Intracoastal
Waterway and requires a draft of only 6.5 feet allowing it to dock at
small yacht facilities in central city locations such as Chopin Plaza.
The well-appointed luxury venue features an impressive formal marble
entryway, 28 individual exhibit spaces, a coffee bar, the Luxe Lounge,
an open-air champagne and tapas bar on the aft deck, Sapore’, a formal
glass-walled restaurant/club on Deck 3, Bistro360, an informal open-air
restaurant and Bar360, a sky deck cocktail reception area.
Besides the dock side exhibition, the yacht took select patrons on sunset cruises, Brunch and Cay cruises and afternoon Bay cruises. While enjoying the amenities, patrons could wander through the five decks which offered 20 unique art galleries and
luxury boutiques. Cruised featured local and internationally renowned artists,
receptions, art performances and more. The yacht was ostentatious and pretentious which might help inspire wealthy patrons to want to buy art. It is a much better place to experience art than a convention center or outdoor tents. I preferred a quick walk through which minimized the risk of getting sea sick or experiencing art burn. From this venue, Terry and I rushed to a museum where an experimental dance performance was to take place.