The month of December is long awaited by artists, gallerists, art lovers, and collectors around the world with their sights set on Art Basel Miami Beach; our city becomes the top destination for anyone and anything art. Zones Art Fair, a creation of Edge Zones Foundation, hosts its 4th edition this Basel season. In an interview with Zones Art Fair curator and Edge Zones director Charo Oquet, we discuss her mission through Edge Zones, the selection of its artists, and its commitment to producing a fair that exceeds its demanding public’s expectations. “Our primary mission is the execution of events that strengthen the contemporary art environment in Miami.
Edge Zones seeks to make contemporary art accessible and engaging and to create a focal point for international research and awareness,” says Oquet, “we look for artists whose work is developed, that are really committed and that have been exhibiting in Miami. The work has to be top of the line contemporary art.”
Zones Art Fair has gained a specific following over the years, an educated public with high demands and no time to waste. Oquet describes the crowd at Zones as “intelligent, world traveled, and very knowledgeable of contemporary art.” She explains that in this 4-day period her public moves fast, “they have little patience for mediocrity,” she says, “this is important to know because if you do not bring the right work to the art fair people won’t even look at it, less enough buy it. Therefore, the work exhibited has to be the very best of ‘contemporary art’.” Oquet’s awareness of her public definitely factors into the nature of the fair and the selection of its artists, somewhat of a supply for demand approach that has resulted in the success and continuance of the fair.
Another of Edge Zones primary missions through their production of Zones Fair is to launch new Miami based talents into the art scene. Basel is an event with a beginning and an end, but the use of Basel as a launching pad for emerging artists promises their survival long after the 4-day event. “We immediately knew that the presence of Art Basel in Miami created such an international focal point that we should move quickly to open platforms so that local artists could participate,” she says, “there are many in Miami who exhibit their work worldwide. It is important that some of the benefits of having a fair such as Basel remain here after the fair goes.” Zones Art Fair opens on December 3rd at 47 NE 25th St., the new Zones Art Space in Wynwood. This free admission art fair features a food-tasting session, talks, exhibitions, video screenings, music and publications.
ZONES is curated by Miami-based artist Charo Oquet director of Edge Zones Miami a niche fair/event, including a food-tasting session, talks, cocktails, exhibition, video screenings, music, performance and publications. A strong local flavor runs through this fair.
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