Cultivist Highlights of Basel Art Week
29 Apr 2024The 2024 edition of the world's most renowned art fair promises a dazzling program of over 4,000 artists under the new leadership of Maike Cruse, the former director of the Gallery Weekend Berlin. The city will become a giant exhibition of parallel fairs, events and exhibitions hosted alongside. With so much on, it will be difficult for even the most ambitious visitors to experience it all! We’ve got you covered with our list of Basel’s not-to-miss moments:
1/ Art Basel: Parcours | Claraplatz | Jun 13 - 16
Curated for the first time by Stefanie Hessler (Director of Swiss Institute in New York), the fair’s public programme is recontextualised as a curated exhibition that will meander through empty storefronts, a hotel, operational shops, and other urban spaces on Basel’s Clarastrasse, which connects the fairgrounds to the Rhine. Ambitious projects will explore ideas of transformation and circulation within the realms of trade and globalisation, the flow of information, and the varied climates and weathers spanning geographies and generations.
2/ Art Basel: Unlimited | Messe Basel | Jun 13 - 16
Art Basel’s unique sector for large-scale projects presents monumental installations, colossal sculptures, boundless wall paintings, comprehensive photo series, and expansive video projections. Highlights for this year include a site-specific installation by Swedish artist Anna Uddenberg, titled Premium Economy (2023-2024), presented by Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler and Meredith Rosen Gallery.
3/ VOLTA Basel | Klybeck 610 | Jun 10 - 16
Artistic Director Lee Cavaliere prioritises showcasing current artistic narratives and amplifying unheard voices. Basel 2024 has a female focus featuring Gillian Jason Gallery from London, a third-generation female-run gallery representing exclusively female artists like Eleanor Johnson and Georgia Dymock, whose large-scale figurative works redefine the female form.
4/ Photo Basel | Volkshaus Basel | Jun 11 - 16
‘Spotlight Africa’ presents four galleries showcasing contemporary African photography, promoting intercultural dialogue and self-expression. From documentary snapshots to abstract explorations, the works capture the diverse richness of Africa and its diaspora. Artists like Angèle Etoundi Essamba and Derrick Ofosu Boateng challenge stereotypes and offer unique perspectives, amplifying the voices of the modern African generation.
5/ Design Miami/ Basel |Messe Basel | Jun 11 - 16
Coinciding with the art exhibitions, one of Europe’s most influential design fairs draws the attention of the global design scene to Basel. The forum Design Miami/ Basel brings furniture, light and art objects to life – with sensational results.
6/ Fondation Beyeler | Summer Exhibition May | Baselstrasse 70 |May 19 - Aug 11
The entire museum and surrounding park will transform into an experimental showcase for contemporary art. The exhibition, curated by a team including artists Precious Okoyomon and Philippe Parreno, fosters a dynamic “living organism” that evolves through connections between individual works and includes adaptations of existing pieces alongside site-specific creations.
7/ Nolan Oswald Dennis: A recurse 4 [3] worlds | Kunsthalle Basel | Steinenberg 7 | Until Aug 11
Nolan Oswald Dennis debuts a monumental site-specific public artwork, spanning the entire back wall. Informed by mathematical abstractions, African fractal geometry, and consultations with physicists and writers, the piece serves as a cartography of systems, exploring exclusionary practices based on gender, class, race, and geography.