Another change for Miami’s ever-evolving art fair scene: the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) will say goodbye to the Deauville Beach Resort, which has hosted its annual NADA fair since 2009, setting up shop at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in December 2015.
The new venue is only about 2 miles south of NADA’s former home, but the move nearly halves the distance between NADA and Art Basel in Miami Beach, held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Anything that means less time sitting in traffic on the always-slammed Collins Avenue is a welcome change.
The fair, which artnet News critic Ben Davis has dubbed the “cool kids” fair (see Finding Something at NADA New York), always does its best to stand apart from the art fair establishment, usually with good results (see NADA Miami Beach 2014 Will Be the Anti-Art Basel and NADA Art Fair Is the Most Fun You’ll Have In Miami).
The Fontainebleau will be the fourth venue for NADA Miami Beach since its inaugural edition in 2003. “Since the first edition, NADA Miami Beach has more than doubled in scale, and remains a vital alternative assembly of emerging voices in the contemporary art community,” explained director Heather Hubbs in a statement.
NADA’s growth refers to its physical floor plan, rather than the number of participating galleries, as the fair has actually featured fewer dealers over the last several years, with 74 exhibitors in 2014, down from 89 in 2013 and 102 in 2012.
Although the art world’s annual pilgrimage to Miami is still eight months off, NADA is coming to town here in New York for next month’s Frieze Week (see We’ve Got the NADA New York 2015 Exhibitor List).