Vik Muniz, Mnemonic Vehicle (Ferrari), 2015. Courtesy the artist and Pace Gallery.

Curated by Florence Derieux, Art Basel’s Parcours sector engages with the historical aspects of the city presenting sculpture and site-specific interventions and performances by emerging and established artists. This year, on June 18, when the fair kicks off, 23 artists will take to Münsterplatz, Basel’s plaza around the historic red sandstone cathedral, with a variety of work including a functioning ice cream parlor created by Davide Balula, with flavors including burnt wood, linen, and smoke; a life-size guillotine by Piero Golia; and Tobias Kasper’s full-scale rendition of a 1995 New York City street, complete with teenagers in period costume.

Some of the works will be on display at the civic sites that face the plaza, including the city’s natural history museum, museum of culture, and town hall.

Also on the roster are artists Alexandra Bachzetsis, Adriano Costa, Alicia Framis, Alicja Kwade, Nate Lowman, Michaela Meise, Jonathan Monk, Vik Muniz, Ciprian Mureşan, Peter Regli, David Renggli, Ugo Rondinone, Yves Scherer, Lara Schnitger, Alyson Shotz, Daniel Silver, Philippe Thomas, Blair Thurman, and Francisco Tropa. (That’s six women out of 23, or just over 25 percent, for those keeping track.)

Alexandra Bachzetsis, Gold, performance, 2004. Courtesy the artist and Meyer Riegger and kurimanzutto galleries.

Several other projects are also sure to be eye-catching. Bachzetsis’ performance Gold focuses on the eroticized image of the powerful woman in hip-hop and R&B, titled for what she calls “the gold standard of the libidinal economy” and powered by a soundtrack including Missy Elliott. Muniz plays with scale by creating a version of the Matchbox car that is the size of an actual car, which will go on display at St. Martin’s church like some relic of childhood. Also riffing on youth is Meise’s sculpture of a kindergarten bench and table for communal sitting, on display at a school on the cathedral plaza.

Davide Balula, Painting the roof of your mouth (Ice Cream), 2015.
Courtesy the artist and galerie frank elbaz.

A party on Saturday night will feature a “special intervention” intervention by Lara Schnitger and an evening program, organized by Derieux, of performances by Rosa Barba, Julien Bismuth, and Erkka Nissinen. Artist Haroon Mirza will offer a DJ set with London-based post-industrial band Factory Floor. A new live performance by Edwin van der Heide is also on tap, presented by HeK (House of electronic Arts Basel).