Culture / Events

The Grand Basel will present the Art of Cars

The MCG Group will be hosting an Art Basel for cars lovers on Miami Beach, featuring 200 classic automobiles from the “past, present and future”.

May 18, 2018 | By Shirley Wang

Luxury cars, old and new, will be the art pieces in a new annual show coming to Miami Beach in February 2019 from the creators of Art Basel. New details of the Miami Grand Basel show, first announced in December, were revealed on Wednesday.

Showcasing a host of around 200 automobiles from the “past, present and future,” each undergoes a juried selection process by the Grand Basel exhibitors before its selection, judging with keen attention on the individual’s design, history and provenance.

Majority of the automobiles will also be available for purchase to collectors, restoration and conservation experts, dealers, manufacturers and connoisseurs. With plans finalised on 16 May between Grand Basel and Miami Beach, the date is set for the inaugural car show: Feb. 22 to 24, 2019.

In a promotional video, Elba drives several luxury automobiles, a glimpse of what’s to come when Grand Basel parks in the Miami Beach Convention Center. The show is created by the Swiss company MCH Group, who are also behind the highly successful art fair Art Basel in Miami Beach, Hong Kong and its home of Basel, Switzerland.

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Watch the promotional film below featuring automotive aficionado and award winning actor Idris Elba:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=68&v=VYL6IHRqqbw

“Is it about acceleration? Speed? Is it the looks, like a piece of art?”

Filmed inside the iconic Lingotto automobile factory in Turin, Idris explores the characteristics of a car that make it a masterpiece and ponders what gives a car its soul.

Grand Basel will be one of the first ventures to present cars in the “cultural context of art, design architecture and lifestyle.”

The Grand Basel will debut in Basel, Switzerland, from Sept. 6 to 9, 2018, before its second show on Miami Beach next year. A Hong Kong event is planned for a later date. The Miami Beach event will be annual, said Mark Backé, global director of Art Basel.

The main program that will run throughout the event will be the expert panels invited, discussing at least one topic each day of the event.

 

Booming Classic Car and Art Market

According to a 2016 Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index report, the classic car industry has observed a striking 457 percent growth just in the past decade, and the art community in Miami has grown exponentially, too, since Art Basel debuted in Miami in 2002. WIth such positive outlooks for both markets that align with the target audience of the upcoming Grand Basel, the fair has an estimated economic impact of $500 million.

The combination of the success of Art Basel, the car collector market in Miami and the nearly finished Miami Beach Convention Center made Miami Beach a natural choice for Grand Basel, Backé said.

The price point for the Grand Basel show is likely to take after the Art Basel, around $50 (SGD$67) for a one-day ticket or $120 (SGD$162) for a ticket valid for all days of the show. Check out more on the Grand Basel show on its official site.


 
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