Miami Art Week transforms the city into an epicenter of creativity each December. Starting in 2002, the event has grown into a sprawling celebration of contemporary art that now attracts collectors and creators from all over the world. This year, more than 1,200 galleries converge in Miami to present an eclectic array of works at the headline events: Art Basel Miami Beach, Untitled Art, NADA, Design Miami, and Art Miami. Those institutions will be joined by local galleries and museums that put out dynamic programming for the week, making Miami Art Week a fabulous celebration of both homegrown and global talent.

Art Basel and Beyond Art Basel Miami Beach is a jewel in the Art Week crown, featuring some of the world’s most renowned galleries. The event offers an unrivaled opportunity to view modern and contemporary artworks on display at the Miami Beach Convention Center. A short walk away, Unlimited Art presents its eponymous beachfront text, hosting a series of experimental works. While these events garner headlines, the city of Miami itself hosts its own local art shows worth visiting.

Here’s a guide to some of the most anticipated exhibitions happening this year:

Slawn: Slawn in Miami

Saatchi Yates

Through December 10

One of the most exciting events will be the debut of Olaolu Slawn. Slawn, a Nigerian-born graffiti artist inspires with works that engage with themes of racial stereotypes and youth culture. For this show, Slawn presents 10 new large-scale paintings that will give platforms to Mr. Green (2024), a humorous reflective depreciation of a cactus-like figure in Slawn’s signature exaggerated style. His works will also be featured in the Rubell Museum’s collection, further confirming his place as an emerging artist.

Calida Rawles: Away with the Tides

Pérez Art Museum

Through February, 2025

Los Angeles-based painter Calida Rawles uses water imagery as a lens to explore Black identity, healing, and resilience. Her hyperrealistic works, inspired by her connection to swimming, delve into Miami’s historic Overtown community, touching on themes of gentrification and systemic inequality. Rawles’ work translates aquatic spaces into sites of both personal and historical reflection. She draws parallels to the Middle Passage and the struggles of segregation-era America. Her evocative depictions of Black residents engaging with water serve to remind the viewers of the joy and trauma in shared histories.

Lucy Bull: The Garden of Forking Paths

ICA Miami

Through September 2025

Lucy Bull’s immersive abstract paintings are a feast for the senses, merging high-powered colors with intricate textures. The show is Bull’s first U.S. institutional solo exhibition and features 16 works, created from 2019-2024, demonstrating her unique process of layering oil paints and exposing their hidden depths through etching. The stars here are Bull’s enormous horizontal painting: over 10 feet in width, they invite viewers into her kaleidoscopic world. Her new stairwell commission, also at ICA Miami, presents an exciting architectural dimension to her work.

Andrea Chung: Between Too Late and Too Early

MOCA North Miami

Through April, 2025

Andrea Chung’s exhibition runs a magnifying glass on the legacies of colonialism via mixed-media installations. The Wailing Room (2024) is one focus of the show. The work is comprised of bottles of sugar that break up over time, revealing the notes of apology to lost children. The harrowing voices made by those enslaved mothers in the Caribbean are invoked in this piece. Chung’s artwork draws inspiration from her Chinese and Caribbean heritages and touches on resistance, love, and the lasting wounds of history.

Visit Miami Art Week

Miami Art Week is more than just an event; it’s a cultural phenomenon that bridges art, history, and innovation. From global galleries showcasing the biggest names in contemporary art to local spaces incubating emerging talent, Miami Art Week 2024 pulses at the heart of the art world.