The Art Basel Miami Gazette rounds up small news, gossip, and sightings from Art Basel in Miami Beach 2016.

What Paris Hilton Loves About Art Basel in Miami Beach
Not counting Madonna’s hotly anticipated, $5,000-a-head benefit concert, slated to take place this evening, the hardest party to get into during Miami Art Week is without a doubt Dom Pérignon’s annual late-night affair at the Wall at the W Hotel in South Beach.

The crowd started queuing up at a quarter to midnight, but the doors never seemed to officially open, forcing would-be clubgoers to jostle for position and grouse among themselves about the delay, especially when it began to rain. After nearly 40 minutes, artnet News was able to sneak past the velvet rope to the fabled land of VIPs.

Among them were reality TV star and heiress-turned DJ Paris Hilton, who we spotted just after 1:30 a.m. at the bar, donning sunglasses to pose for selfies with her friends.

Her favorite part of Art Basel in Miami Beach is “just being inspired by the art,” Hilton told artnet News. “And I DJ here every year, and it’s the best party of the week. All my friends are here—it’s like a high school reunion, everyone is here from around the world!”

Hilton wasn’t alone in her sentiments: “I’ve never seen so many art world VIPs in one place,” we overheard one awed guest remark.

The bash was hosted by dealer Vito Schnabel and real estate magnate and collector Aby Rosen, who was perched comfortably on the edge of the room for much of the night. Art Basel global director Marc Spiegler, on the other hand, could be found right in the thick of things, dancing on one of the banquets into the wee hours of the morning.

Also on hand were performance artist Yung Jake, street artist Mr. Brainwash, and Princess Eugenie, associate director of Hauser & Wirth. The young royal was a literal English rose amid the packed nightclub, decked out in a delicate blue lace dress, the epitome of British elegance amid decadent Miami excess.

The champagne flowed freely, and the obliging bartenders were handing out cigarettes to the well-lubricated crowd, who lit up right on the dance floor.

The fairs may continue through Sunday, but much of the art world is already packing their bags. By the end of the night, the potent cocktail of art, celebrity, and yes, actual alcohol, had worked its magic on the crowd, and it was rapper Gucci Mane, during a brief performance, who put it best: “I’m so wasted; she’s so wasted!”

Laura Smith Sweeney at the Untitled booth of Ana Mas Projects. Photo courtesy of Laura van Straaten.

Isabel Marant’s Muse at Ana Mas Projects

San Francisco art advisor Laura Smith Sweeney posed at the Untitled booth of Ana Mas Projects in front of a 2016 work on paper by Regina Giménez. She was wearing a new Isabel Marant dress inspired by (and refreshingly properly licensed from) the artist.

Photo courtesy of Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com.

A “Giant Creative Boiling Bucket” at Pérez Art Museum Miami

Artists like Tunga, Joana Vasconcelos, Nina Chanel Abney, Seu Jorge, Beatriz Milhazes, and many more contributed site-specific works to “Made By…Feito por Brasileiros,” a sprawling “cultural happening” that took place recently at Cidade Matarazzo, an abandoned hospital in São Paulo. A gigantic volume devoted to the project, titled Creative Invasion, was launched Friday morning at the Pérez Art Museum Miami.

“Brazil is a giant creative boiling bucket,” said French entrepreneur Alexandre Allard, who has been at the forefront of the restoration of the hospital facility as a cultural complex, at a press conference. He added that the country long thrived on an economy based on extraction of natural resources, but that the model is not sustainable. And who else to lead the way, he said, but the country’s artists? Because look, he added—after all, if you put on some Brazilian music at a club, you’ll see that everyone starts dancing.

Bottle of Gem & Bolt mezcal at Olivia Steele event. Photo courtesy of artnet News.

Mezcal on Ice With Oliva Steele

The dinner we attended last night was on the ice rink in the Basement of the Edition hotel, complete with bouquets of flowers, candles, and even a DJ on the ice, although there were strips of elevated carpet for guests to walk on (also where the tables were placed).

The dinner was in honor of light artist Olivia Steele and her new book “Conceptual Confessions.” Meanwhile, Steele’s neon sculptures bathed the room in an ethereal glow. Partygoers marveled that the temperature in the room could be so comfortable despite being atop a room filled with ice.

Guests were served an elaborate dinner with rosé wine, custom made cocktails, and bottles of a new mezcal brand called Gem & Bolt, one that is made with a special herb called “damiana” added. Steele, who is herself a partner in the brand, explained to us that the herb is not only good for digestion but also serves as an aphrodisiac.

As the night ramped up, so did the dancing, with some guests opting to step off the carpet and test out the ice itself…with mixed results.

The Cultivist’s Annual Artist Lunch. Photo courtesy of Charles Roussel/BFA.com.

The Cultivist Sets a Tranquil Table at The Setai Miami Beach

The world’s “only global arts club” hosted its second annual Cultivist Artist Lunch at The Setai Miami Beach. The tranquil meal brought members together with artists, including Mickalene Thomas, Hank Willis Thomas, Martin Parr, Hugo McCloud, Tahnee Lonsdale, Landon Ross, Sadie Barnette, and Francisco Ugarte, among others.