In a last-minute switcheroo, NADA Miami Beach is moving. Electrical problems at the Deauville Beach Resort, along with lingering effects from Hurricane Irma, have forced the art fair to relocate this year. Organized by the nonprofit New Art Dealers Alliance, the fair will return to Ice Palace Film Studios in downtown Miami, where it took place from 2004 to 2008. NADA Miami Beach is the marquee fair among the many satellite fairs to Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB).

“It’s been a great home for us in the past,” executive director Heather Hubbs told artnet News.

The Deauville suffered an electrical fire in late July. The damage wasn’t fully repaired when Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida on September 11, brought high winds, heavy rain, and flooding. An operator at the Deauville said she was unable to transfer artnet News’s call to a press office because she was working on an emergency line. The hotel’s press agent did not immediately respond to a request for information on the status of repair efforts.

A dealer forwarded an email to artnet News announcing the change for the fair’s 15th edition. The text of the email, which was distributed to exhibitors on Wednesday, appears in full at the end of this article.

This edition of the fair will host some 108 galleries fro 16 nations. There are 23 first-timers, including New York’s Lomex; Natalia Hug, Cologne; and Dan Gunn, Berlin.

The Ice Palace is located near several major stops on the Miami circuit. Via the Venetian Way Bridge, the venue is just five miles from the Miami Beach Convention Center, the home of Art Basel Miami Beach—about the same distance as the Deauville. The Palace is also just two miles from the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami—which unveils its new, purpose-built facility downtown this year—and only a mile from the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Just south of the lively Design District, it is also close to the Cisneros Collection and other private museums.

Hubbs said that the fair has actually gained 10,000 square feet of interior space, plus some 25,000 square feet of outdoor space. She and her team are working to arrange the floor plan; they anticipate that they will be able to provide each exhibitor with the agreed-upon floor space, despite some possible layout changes dictated by the venue change.

Several dealers, speaking off the record, said that the move strikes them as a major positive. They pointed out a grassy area in front of Ice Palace that provides not only a place to exhibit outdoor works, but also a social space. The industrial character and lighting of the interior provide a more neutral setting for art than the chandeliers and heavily patterned carpets of the Deauville, said the dealers. They also praised the simplified layout at the Ice Palace.

The fair has been a bit of a wanderer over the years. Its inaugural edition, in 2003, was at the Lincoln Hotel, just steps from ABMB. It was at the Ice Palace from ’04 to ’08, after which it headed to the Deauville, where it resided from 2009 to 2014. The fair then moved to the more central Fontainebleau Miami Beach in 2015. It stayed there for only a year after failing to generate sufficient room rentals or restaurant revenue to be invited back, Hubbs confirmed. NADA returned to the Deauville for 2016.

As for future venues, Hubbs said it’s too soon to say. “I think the fair will be good and successful this year,” she said. “I don’t know if we would want to go back to the beach after this. I can’t really say at the moment. We just have to get through this and then see how we’re feeling.”

The text of the email distributed to participating galleries follows:

Dear Exhibitor,

NADA has just been notified by the Deauville Beach Resort that the hotel is unable to host NADA in Miami Beach this year, due to complications as a result of an electrical fire sustained in July 2017 which is now exacerbated by Hurricane Irma.

As a result of this news, NADA has partnered with the Ice Palace Studios, 1400 North Miami Avenue, to host the fifteenth edition of the fair, December 7–10, 2017. As the previous home of NADA fairs in Miami from 2004 to 2008, we are confident that the Ice Palace Studios will provide an ideal location for this year’s fair.

Located in Downtown Miami, the Ice Palace Studios is comprised of approximately 48,000 sq. ft. of interior space and 25,000 sq. ft. of garden area. The venue neighbors the Design District, and is in close vicinity to the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), ICA Miami, major collections, and the Miami Beach Convention Center. We are also in discussions with hotels nearby to secure discounted group rates for exhibitors and guests.

We value your participation in NADA, and our continued aim is to accommodate each of our exhibitors and produce a successful art fair in Miami. We are currently adapting the floor plan for the new venue. While it is possible that booth dimensions may need to be adjusted, we are working to maintain the original allotted square footage for each exhibitor.

A member of NADA’s Board of Directors or the Miami Selection Committee will be getting in touch with each exhibitor by phone today to discuss further. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the office with any questions.

Sincerely,

Heather Hubbs

Executive Director

New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA)