Miami, Fla. – Commissioner Kionne L. McGhee sponsored legislation that his fellow commissioners approved on Tuesday, Nov. 15 recognizing December 2022, and each December thereafter, as ARTZ305 Month in Miami-Dade County.

That recognition highlights Miami Art Week, the city’s longest-running fair, of which Miami Beach-based Art Basel is the cornerstone.

Art Basel and its satellite fairs, however, are just a facet of Miami Art Week, as the Art of Black Miami, Art of Black in Opa-locka and Little Haiti, and other events elevate local artists throughout Miami Art Week.

Art Basel (artbasel.com), which describes itself as the show that brings the international art world together, connecting leading art patrons and galleries across countries and continents, and is said to be North America’s most comprehensive international contemporary art fair, celebrates its 20th anniversary Dec. 1 – 3 with its largest show to date and an invitation-only preview Nov. 29 – 30.

Day tickets this year are $65 per person, or $45 for students and seniors, available for purchase online via the Art Basel website, artbasel.com. Access for all four days is $145. Attendees ages 12 and over must provide proof of a negative lab-administered COVID-19 test in order to gain access to Art Basel Miami Beach.

Elsewhere, in addition to his debut this year as one of only a handful of local artists, and artists of color, showing at the main Art Basel Show on Miami Beach, Miami-based sculptural artist Troy Simmons’ second permanent public commission just opened this month: Janusportal, a major new sculptural installation in partnership with jet manufacturer Bombardier and MiamiDade County Art in Public Places, at Miami Opa locka Airport. It’s his largest work to date – and provides a unique point of entry to Bombardier’s. Meanwhile, George Gadson will be among the selected artists featured, along with a contingent of local artists from ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale, at Miami’s “Le Art Noir – Diversity in Color” event, Dec. 1 at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in Miami. Coming to two historic Black neighborhoods are The Art of Transformation and the Art of an Athlete – explorations and celebrations of Black art

The Art of Transformation, a four-day, three-block "mecca of Black art" happening in Opa-locka, Dec. 1 – 4, will include African art exhibitions, immersive augmented reality experiences in the Urban Oasis, AfriKin cultural tent with talk backs, movie screening and African dance, an African inspired pop up restaurant at the Historic Opa-locka Train Station, nightly block parties, spoken word, food trucks, live music and more. Visit artinopalocka.com.

The Art of an Athlete: 26-year-old Max Pearce, a Harlem Globetrotter, endured a racial insult during a live TV interview. Eight months later he channeled his anger into creating a stunning mixedmedia art collection that celebrates social protest in sports, including pieces about Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, exclusively showing at the N’Namdi Gallery in Little Haiti.

The Art of Transformation will greet visitors in the city’s center on Ali Baba Avenue from the Historic Train Station, the ARC, to the Hurt Building on 490 Ali Baba Avenue, Opa-Locka.

The event features free admission to the public, connects Africa and Europe to the Americas through reimagined, repurposed and transformed spaces, popup street parties and concerts; a Culinary Trip to Africa at the Historic Train Station, and the grand finale block party with live music and performances, Miami Art Week Exodus to Opa-Locka Festival, scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m. – 10 p.m.

The Art of an Athlete collection will be available for public viewing on Dec. 2 from 6 -10 p.m. and at 12 noon until 10 p.m. on Dec. 3 and 4.

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) provides a comprehensive Art of Black Miami (AOBM) programming lineup for Miami Art Week, including these events and showcasing the local cultural diversity of the visual arts and celebrating the Black diaspora. Visit miamiandbeaches.com/things-to-do/art-and-cul- ture/art-of-black