How Art Basel Lit Up Miami Nightlife

When I first came to Miami about 30 years ago, nightlife was all concentrated on South Beach. Back then, clubs only had one or two big nights, and those during the week were better than the ones on weekends — Groove Jet on a Tuesday was always the coolest to me. Then Liquid came in 1995 and changed the game. It brought bottle service and big DJs and a mega-club feel to Miami. Now, if I walked into the old space of Liquid, it would feel too small — that’s how much the scene has exploded since.

Art Basel came to town in 2002, and we spent the first few years just trying to figure out what it was. It wasn’t really nightlife focused: It was mostly dinners, and the Miami Beach Convention Center was (and still is) the hub of the action. There’d always be a preview event, and you’d see the billionaires getting excited to go into the Convention Center early to see the art. Because so much is online now, everyone has a good idea of what’s coming to the fair, but back then, there was still an air of mystery. It was exciting.

The celebrities came right away. They know it’s cool to be attached to certain artists, and they want a piece of that. Plus, it’s great for celebrities who are also artists themselves, like Adrien Brody, who did a show of his paintings in Wynwood in 2015. Sean Penn does an annual fundraiser event for his CORE nonprofit, and that always brings out celebs. It’s practically Fashion Basel at this point, too, because a lot of fashion brands do activations here, and all the celebrities attached to those come. We’re so lucky that Art Basel takes over our entire city — from Miami Beach to Brickell to the Design District, everywhere you go there’s something to see and do.

“Nothing compares to Art Basel in Miami Beach. Not a Super Bowl, not the World Series, not F1 — nothing is busier.”

Gekko, Papi Steak, and Casadonna are some of the best places to see the biggest artists and the biggest celebrities — and I’m not just saying that because they’re my restaurants. I just look at the reservations lists, and there they are. You can specialize your nights out: Collectors and gallerist types go to Casadonna, and Papi Steak is for when people are really trying to go big and go out. Before, the Art Basel crowd would focus on going to the pop-ups from the cool places in London or Paris, like when Le Baron would come to the Delano. And if there was an Art Basel party, you’d try to book more artsy DJs — people who focused on the Lower East Side kind of crowd. Now, because Art Basel has become so massive, everything’s big: At LIV this year, we have John Summit; we have Diplo; we have DJ Khaled doing the afterparty for his celebrity golf tournament.

There’s art for people from every walk of life, and all these other little pop-up fairs happening at the same time. It’s not hyperfocused on one crowd or another; it runs the whole gamut, which is amazing. People come to Art Basel in Miami, and they let down their inhibitions. They are themselves, wearing what they like, even walking down the street in performance-art attire. You can see it all. Miami is such an energetic and vibrant city on any normal day — during Art Basel, it’s dialed up even more. Nothing compares to Art Basel in Miami Beach. Not a Super Bowl, not the World Series, not F1 — nothing is busier. From Monday to Sunday, every day is the biggest day of the week.