Welcome to The 12 Days of Artmas, our new, non-denominational holiday extravaganza—an advent calendar with gift ideas and stories for art lovers of all stripes, dropping daily through December 24.
Still looking for the perfect present? You’re in luck: we have art (and art-adjacent) experiences for everyone on your list, and you can gift them in just a few clicks.
A Global Frieze Membership
Copyright: Ben Broomfield Photography.
Frieze has launched a membership program for emerging collectors and other art lovers, called Frieze 91. The multi-tiered package includes a year-round program of offerings that span exclusive access to events and cultural institutions, along with VIP access to its fairs in London, Los Angeles, New York, and Seoul. There is an educational component as well, with artist studio tours, workshops, and lectures.
Price: From £990 ($1,260) to £2600 ($3,600) per year, available here.
Dinner at Alice Waters’s New Restaurant in L.A.’s Hammer Museum
Chefs Alice Waters and David Tanis at Lulu. Courtesy of Justin Chung.
The mother of California cuisine just opened her first restaurant in nearly 40 years: Lulu, a gathering place for artists, farmers, students, and locals in the courtyard of U.C.L.A.’s Hammer Museum. Having worked with Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley for more than 25 years, chef and writer David Tanis oversees the daily changing menu, which sources directly from local regenerative farms for dishes like baked Sonoma goat cheese with golden beets and garden lettuces. Surrounded by California strawberries and Sierra mint, the indoor-outdoor space has a mosaic wall commissioned from artist Jorge Pardo.
Price: $100 to cover dinner for two, with digital gift cards available here.
Immersive Frida and Diego in London and Washington, D.C.
Installation view of “Frida: La Experiencia Immersiva” in Mexico City. Photo: Claudio Cruz/AFP via Getty Images.
Lately, immersive art experiences have proved to be quite the crowd pleasers. Following the Immersive Van Gogh mania, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera will get the immersive treatment with Mexican Geniuses, set to open in London and Washington, D.C. next Spring. Created by tech firm Brain Hunter co., the highly anticipated exhibition will present digital projections of 300 images from or featuring Mexico’s most famous artist couple. With VR headsets, visitors will also be able to walk through the Mexico City streets that inspired them.
Price: Gift cards from £27 ($44.90), available here.
A Hauser & Wirth Hotel Stay in Scotland
The Fife Arms, in Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park. Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke.
Recently, Manuela and Iwan Wirth—the couple behind Hauser and Wirth—converted a 19th-century coaching inn at the heart of the Cairngorms National Park into the Russell Sage Studio–designed Fife Arms. With its creative residencies (Edinburgh artist and poet Alec Finlay created a guide to the Cairngorms during his stay) and more than 16,000 artworks across its 46 suites, dining room, pub, and whiskey bar (including commissions from artists such as Guillermo Kuitca), the Scottish-eclectic hotel has turned the tiny village of Braemar into a buzzy art-world destination.
Price: £2,000 ($2,737) for an e-voucher covering a two-night stay with art tours, whisky tastings, and guided Highland walks for two guests, available here.
A Masterclass Subscription
Courtesy of Masterclass.
Es Devlin, Jeff Koons, and Annie Leibowitz are just a few of the art thinkers who share insights into their creative processes through Masterclass courses. Star photographer Tyler Mitchell discusses tips on shooting with natural light and how to build confidence as an artist, while Koons looks at the history of the readymades. And of course, if you feel like branching out beyond art, there is a lot more that you can learn on the platform.
Price: $16 per month (billed annually), available here.
A Scavenger Hunt at The Met in New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo: Fcb981, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Unported license and GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
Watson Adventures has come up with what might be the funnest way to explore The Met, turning the entire museum into the setting for its scavenger hunts. Themes range from a murder mystery revolving around the purchase of a rare Leonardo da Vinci painting to women in art history to a special Valentine’s Day edition focused on nudes.
Price: Virtual gift cards from $19 to $45 per person, available here.
Drinks in the Painter’s Room at Claridge’s in London
The Painter’s Room bar recently opened inside of Claridge’s, in Mayfair. Courtesy of Maybourne Hotel Group.
Fresh from a top-to-toe renovation, Claridge’s—the Art Deco landmark in London’s Mayfair—unveiled a John Pawson–designed art space with a Damien Hirst exhibition during Frieze. With its artful cocktails (such as the Saint Remy—a take on the martini inspired by Van Gogh’s Almond Blossom, also with apple and quince) amid a stained-glass installation commissioned from British artist Annie Morris, the hotel’s new, pink onyx–clad Painter’s Room bar was also designed for art lovers.
Price: Gift vouchers from £50 ($67) available here.
Previous stories in this series:
Give Your Loved One Their Very Own Louvre Masterpiece, Courtesy of Samsung’s The Frame TV
The Best Gifts Art-World Insiders Have Ever Given, From an Old Master Painting to a Zanzibarian Key
Who Couldn’t Use Gift Guidance From the Cosmos? We’ve Consulted 5 Experts in Art and Astrology
For Travelers, Consider Virgil Abloh-Designed Luggage That Reimagines Louis Vuitton’s Legacy
On the First Day of Artmas, My True Love Gave to Me… a Step-by-Step Guide for Gifting an NFT