Art Basel Miami: SCOPE, Wynwood & The Magic We Didn’t See Coming

Our 4th Art Basel Adventure

This was our 4th year going to Art Basel since moving to South Florida, and it has truly become one of the highlights of our year. This little Art Basel recap also doubles as a Miami travel diary, because the city itself is such a big part of the experience. Scott and I made a full day of it with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. We left the house at 9:30 AM and didn’t get home until 11 PM… the best kind of long day.

Getting Started

We began at the main Art Basel show at the Convention Center. Over the years we’ve tried driving, parking, even taking the Brightline train. The Brightline was pleasant, but once we got off we still had 45 minutes of traffic and had to stick to the train schedule. Driving ourselves wasn’t great either… parking is expensive and the traffic is brutal. It took us over two hours to get there this year.

Using a driver or Ubering has become our go-to. It lets us arrive as fresh as possible, which matters because walking through the exhibits is its own kind of marathon. You want to feel open and ready, not stressed before you even begin.

We packed a little brunch again this year to eat in the car, but the stop-and-go traffic made that impossible. Thankfully we arrived early and found a free botanical garden across the street. Shaded, breezy, gorgeous… the perfect spot for our picnic before heading inside at noon.

Inside Art Basel

Once inside, we wandered for hours. Art Basel is sensory overload in the best way. There’s so much to look at that you almost don’t know where to begin.

Scott has been reading The 2AM Principle and gave us a little “mission” for the day. Each of us had to find artwork that represented the past, the present, and the future. And then we each had to take one photo of ourselves doing something with a piece of art. A fun little add-on. We saved our photos to share over dinner later.

A Mid-Day Break in South Beach

After a few hours, we walked toward Ocean Drive in South Beach for a snack at a Cuban restaurant. It felt good to get off our feet and take a breather before moving on to the next exhibit.

SCOPE on the Sand

From there, we headed to SCOPE, the huge tent right on the sand. The art there leans more modern and has a completely different vibe from the main Basel show.

My favorite artist at SCOPE every single year is Max Zorn, the Amsterdam tape artist. He creates illuminated portraits using mostly brown packing tape layered on acrylic glass, and when they’re lit from behind they look like sepia-toned photographs. He sometimes adds pops of color using other tape. Watching him work is mesmerizing. One day, I really do think we’ll bring one of his pieces home.

Wynwood at Night

After SCOPE, we Ubered to dinner in Wynwood. We ate at Doya… more on that another day (it was fantastic). Wynwood was buzzing afterward. Music spilling out of different spaces, people everywhere. Our kids had told us that Art Basel week is as much about the music as the art, and after seeing it at night, I get it.

The Moment We’ll Never Forget

And then came the moment that made the whole day.

We were walking past a studio when the door blew open. Light and color spilled out, and I said, "what is that?" The man sitting outside smoking a cigar heard me and said, "go on in, it’s my studio."

We had no idea who he was.

It was Peter Tunney.

We wandered inside his 4,000 sq ft studio and admired pieces that were still drying. He spent time talking with us about how he creates his work, especially the deeply personal commission pieces he does after getting to know families. He told a story about a son who hired him to create an artwork about his mother. Peter spent so much time learning about her that after she passed away, the son asked him to call around 70 relatives because he felt Peter understood her better than anyone.

He also told us about surprise proposals he helps coordinate inside the studio. We watched him do a wild six-wall trick shot on his pool table. He signed a book for us. It was such a special experience.

And the wildest part… we still didn’t fully grasp who he was until the next morning when I turned on the Today Show and saw a full segment on him. One of the original artists behind Wynwood Walls and such a major force in the Miami art world. And somehow we had walked into his studio like it was meant to happen.

What a day. What an adventure.