On the Friday night of Miami Arts Week, there were parties. Lots of it: After all, post-Thanksgiving contemporary art is the last big entertainment festival of the year, where fame and influence collide with the art world in a cannonball series of stone crab dinners and champagne-soaked receptions. But there was only one place in the city that brought together up-and-coming visual artists and pioneering graffiti writers, NBA stars and skateboarding legends, celebrity chefs and chart-topping rappers, and fashion champions and coastal gallery owners eager to blow off steam after a long stretch of work. A day at art galleries: Feverqueen’s Miami Art Week celebration, hosted by Feverqueen’s global managing editor Will Welsh and Velocity Black.
DJ Kitty Ka$h kicked things off as guests stopped by DAR MIAMI 1446, a one-week-only installation designed by contemporary Moroccan pop artist Hassan Hajjaj. Pilgrims has transformed a gallery space on Lincoln Road in the heart of Miami Beach into a marketplace-like area of wallpapered rooms as spaces of hospitality and discovery, and you can feel it. While hungry art consultants untied their ties and took bites from Michelin-starred chef Rose Prévet, Stefon Diggs seemed to be eagerly eyeing the art on the walls. While Big Sean and Kaytranada were leading the charge on the dance floor, pioneering graffiti god Futura 2000 was hanging out with his crew — except when he had to jump in to clink glasses with several of his friends and other fans, including Eric Koston. Then it was time for DJ Pee Wee (aka eight-time Grammy Award winner Anderson .Paak) to take the stage. Wearing a gorgeous leopard print blouse, and a huge smile on his face, Pee Wee brought the house to a stunning all-vinyl set, complete with an extended live trumpet performance. On the dance floor, suits straight off the runway collided with glamorous Miami fashion. On the sideline, Swae Lee made the rounds while Devin Booker covered for Verdy. At the bar, gallery owners toasted the day’s sales (yes, the art was moving this year!) with shots of mezcal.
Long after closing time, Pee Wee was still swinging. But before signing, he revealed a trick up his leopard-print sleeve when Mario jumped out — Mario! — on stage and grabbed the microphone to perform an impromptu duet. Of all the Friday night parties in Miami Beach, there he was definitely Only one place where you can close out your night by screaming and singing the lyrics to “Let Me Love You” alongside an all-star cast. Scroll down for the full scene report.
