Written by Monica Correa on November 23, 2021

Wynwood is expecting its biggest crowd at Miami Art Week after neighborhood expansion put them massively on the map.

The eclectic neighborhood famous for its murals and unique scene is gearing up for Miami Art Week from November 29 to December 5, with activities from North Miami Avenue to Sixth Avenue, around 20 new murals, painted about 15 American and international artists, including Ron English, AVAF and Case MaClaim, Elle, Queen Andrea, Magnus Sodamin, and FINOK.

“This year will probably be the biggest ever,” said Manny Gonzalez, executive director of the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID). “We usually celebrate Art Basel Week by closing Second Avenue because business was so focused there, but we now have North Miami Avenue with Oasis, which is now one of the central pieces in Wynwood. So this year, instead of focusing on Second Avenue, we’ll have activities from North Miami Avenue to Sixth Avenue.

Wynwood has partnered with urban revitalization firm Mana Common to produce the Miami Mural Festival, which features 500,000 square feet of murals between the heart of Wynwood and the Flagler neighborhood of downtown Miami, according to a press release from Mana Common.

«[Murals in Wynwood] “They were never part of the Art Basel celebrations or activities because they were not in the building,” said Mr. Gonzalez. “Everything will be activated for the first time in history here in Wynwood.”

This includes the WeTrek mobile app that Wynwood District activates to display the wall. WeTrek, available on iTunes or the Google Play Store, will display tour guides and wall information when you take a photo in the app using built-in GPS technology.
“This app will allow people who come to Wynwood to get the stories behind the murals painted on the walls,” Gonzalez said. “So if you walk around and see a beautiful mural, you can take a picture of it, because most of the time you don’t know who the artists of those murals are, and this app will make you feel like a museum.” .

The Wynwood feature for the app will launch prior to Art Week and is currently in development.

Before the pandemic, Wynwood typically received 80,000 to 100,000 visitors per day, he said. In 2019, Wynwood received approximately 350,000 visitors during Art Basel/Miami Art Week. “It could increase in size significantly this year, because it is literally the first time Art Basel has been back in two years.”

In terms of security, Wynwood BID is working with the Miami City Police Department to activate the Art Week force, Gonzalez said, which has brought about 100 officers to Wynwood at night during this time. Barriers will also be placed in the streets, “just so that people have more space to walk on the sidewalks.”

“This is an exciting time because we see ourselves as a non-exclusive celebration of Art Week,” he said. “If you’re lucky enough to attend an Art Basel event, that’s good for you, but for all of you people who just want to get out and enjoy the vibe, the weather, and the feel, it’s Wynwood that always pulls in the crowd… everyday.”

The colorful neighborhood of 50 buildings with more than 200 street murals began production when Art Walk was shown every second Saturday of the month and was made famous by the 2002 Art Basel installation in Miami Beach.

“We have the largest collection of murals in the United States,” Gonzalez said. “And we will have a lot of activations, and all the different companies will do some kind of special activations just for the Basel events. So we expect a huge influx of people.

According to a press release from Wynwood BID. It will also contain a “fully painted immersive room” called Ignorantismo, the statement said, where “criminals, vandals, luxury cars, beaches and animals come to life on the walls and tell the story of Miami’s excesses.”

Spectrum Miami and Red Dot Miami will return to the Mana Wynwood Convention Center at 2217 NW Fifth Ave. , December 1-5, with 100,000 square feet of art galleries on their premises, “Two Galleries Under One Roof,” produced by Redwood Media Group and has local and international artists and galleries.

Spectrum Miami will also host showrooms from Chicago-based Pigment International and Colorado-based Golden Galleries from December 1-5. These exhibitions will highlight contemporary black fine art, including works by Richard Mayhew Charlie Palmer, Kerry James Marshall, Nagy Dorsey, Dana Todd Pope, Kevin Nance West, Heather Polk and Thomas E. Lockhart III, according to a press release. On December 4, artist, sculptor and poet Gerald Griffin will discuss the creation of his latest work at Pigment Salon Talk at 2 p.m., which features sculptures of former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris.

It will host Basel House at 2250 NW Fifth Ave. Its 7th Annual Mural Festival, a free event featuring live murals, art installations, BMC ramp park, live music at night, and food and drink options, December 2-5, starting at 4 p.m.

Sentral Wynwood will feature a rooftop mural by Joe Geis that can be seen from the pool deck on the sixth floor. According to a spokesperson, it is “inspired by the Miami movement, capturing the energy, color and general movement of the city of waves, palm trees, wind, ships and people through vivid colors and expressive brushstrokes.”

Altogether, this is the week that Wynwood counts the most annually on, Mr. Gonzalez said. “It’s like our New Year. We put Art Basel on the map, because people need to go somewhere and when they see art… But this year it will be like never before.