Dale Chihuly’s “Niijima Floats” in Benjamin Rush Sibley Victoria Amazonica Pool at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables. Photo by Claudia Cebrian.

Post-Art Basel

Feeling Left Out, City Beautiful Jumps on the Basel Bandwagon

“We played by all of their rules and expectations.”

By Cynthia Archbold

Not content to watch Miami Beach bask in the limelight of its Art Basel extravaganza again this year, Coral Gables will participate in the international art festival with a full day of performance art, lectures, films, art and architecture tours, galleries, music and restaurants offering art themed food on Sunday, Dec. 10.

It’s the first time Coral Gables has jumped on the Art Basel bandwagon, and high time it did, according to gallery owners, who have spent the last 10 months working with the city’s Cultural Advisory Board and Economic Development Department to create an event allowing the City Beautiful to share the spotlight.

But why pick Sunday — the day when Art Basel Miami Beach is packing up and leaving? “We played by all of their rules and expectations,” says Gables Economic Director Cathy Swanson. “We want Art Basel next year to include us more and more on their program.”

An ongoing and expanding relationship with Art Basel is exactly what City Beautiful gallery owners are hoping for.

“The members of the Coral Gables Gallery Association are delighted to see the city of Coral Gables support the visual arts through ‘Coral Gables Celebrates Art,’” says Virginia Miller, president of the gallery association and owner of ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries.

Twelve galleries will open their doors Sunday afternoon, from 1-4 p.m., offering art and music, with two trolleys taking visitors door to door. But that’s just the beginning.

Some of the events scheduled for Coral Gables Celebrates Art:

• Performance Art breakfast at the Venetian pool, featuring performance art of Fernando Calzadilla, 9 a.m.-11 a.m.

• Lowe Art Museum Open House featuring Humberto Calzada, “In Dreams Awake,” 9 a.m.-noon.

• Fairchild Tropical Garden’s second round of the Dale Chihuly Exhibit, this time with a special installation of works by young artists from New World School of the Arts, 9 a.m.-noon.

• Art and Architecture Tour with University of Miami Professor Ari Millas, co-author of Coral Gables/Miami Riviera: An Architectural Guide. Pick up and Drop off at Venetian Pool. 10:30 a.m.-noon.

• Miami Art Central presents the Parodi Lecture in Philosophy of Art, “Video Art versus Video Art” by Dominic Mciver Lopes, followed by a reception at 5960 Red Road, 11 a.m.

• The Wines of Basel lecture at the University of Miami School of Architecture’s Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center, 1215 Dickinson Drive, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

• Art Galleries Open House, for art, music and light fare, Ponce de Leon Blvd., 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

• Architecture in the afternoon, with Ellen Uguccioni, co-author of Coral Gables/Miami Riviera: An Architectural Guide, with a stop at the historic Merrick House for mango tea and tea sandwiches, 1-2:30 p.m.

• Lecture at Books and Books by Jed Perl, contributing editor for Vogue, followed by performance art of Fernando Calzadilla, 265 Aragon Avenue, 3 p.m.

• Food Loves Art themed menus at Gables restaurants, 6-10 p.m.

Reservations are required for tours and lectures. For more information on Coral Gables Celebrates Art or reservations call 305-460-5311 or visit www.coralgables.com.

One edge that Sunday in the Gables has over the Beach: free parking at street meters and in garages.

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