PULSE Miami Beach Opening @ Art Basel

PULSE Miami Beach will open with its signature Private Preview Brunch on Tuesday, December 1 from1pm–4pm as an exclusive first look for VIPs and invited guests. The inaugural event will include the presentation of Man Na Manam Na Man Manam + {AR}Ticulations of the Self, an interactive augmented reality installation by Amir Baradaran in the South Tent. Immediately following the brunch PULSE will open to the public with the Opening Celebration from 4pm–7pm which features the first PERSPECTIVES talk of the week. Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief of Hyperallergic, will engage PLAY guest curator Stacy Engman and artists Amir Baradaran, Kate Durbin and Kalup Linzy in conversation about performance art and popular culture. The evening will also include live performances by Kate Durbin and Kalup Linzy.

Notable galleries from three continents will present a mix of established and emerging artists whose perspectives and practices are expected to challenge and engage PULSE’s global audience. Visitors will find well-known artists such as Chuck Close, Vik Muniz, Edward Burtynsky, and José Parlá alongside a host of rising stars to discover. Conversations, a new focus on dual-artist exhibitions, highlighting the visual dialogue between the artists’ works through material, style and subject, can be found in the South Tent and some of the actual conversations between artists featured can be found on pulseartfair.tumblr.com.

PULSE is committed to creating an enjoyable environment to discover and experience art and will continue its tradition of presenting tightly curated and thematic booths. “We are building an ever-evolving community of galleries and are proud to welcome 12 who exhibited at the very first PULSE eleven years ago.  As our footprint by the ocean increases, there’s more room to view art, ​ more projects to interact with and more room to relax. Our goal is to create a supportive environment and aid in the development of long-lasting relationships for our audience, exhibitors and their artists,” says Helen Toomer, Director of PULSE Contemporary Art Fair.

Innovative programming is an essential part of the PULSE experience. PLAY, a platform for video-based works, will be guest-curated by independent curator and ArtCapsul founder Stacy Engman. Screenings will run on-site throughout the week. The PROJECTS program will feature the captivating neon installation You Are (on) An Island by Alicia Eggert  and Mike Fleming courtesy of Sienna Patti and the playfully unsettling “apartment building sculpture,” Everyone is Somewhere, by Chris Jones courtesy of MARC STRAUS, along with works by Frances Trombly courtesy of Emerson Dorsch, Gordon Holden courtesy of Paul Loya Gallery, and Jim Osman courtesy of Lesley Heller Workspace. The jury-selected PRIZE, a cash award given directly to an artist exhibiting in a solo presentation at the fair, will be announced on Thursday, December 4. The 2015 Miami Beach jury includes Don Baciagalupi, Director, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art; Casey Fremont, Executive Director, Art Production Fund; Sarah Harrelson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Cultured Magazine; and Deborah Willis, PhD., Chair, Department of Photography and Imaging, NYU Tisch School of the Art.

On Saturday, December 5, PULSE will close the week with a day focused on the Miami arts community which includes complimentary admission for Miami residents between 10am–5pm (upon presentation of valid ID) and the Sunset Celebration. Starting at 5pm, the Sunset Celebration begins with a welcome by Miami Beach Mayor, Philip Levine and features a Miami-focused PERSPECTIVES talk with Tobias Ostrander, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of PAMM; Bahia Ramos, Art Program Director for the Knight Foundation; and Claire Breukel, curator of Y.ES contemporary, moderated by Hrag Vartanian ofHyperallergic. The Florida Grand Opera will bring PULSE Miami Beach 2015 to a close that evening with a live performance courtesy of the Knight Foundation.