BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

Heather Hubbs

Director at NADA

Heather Hubbs
Heather Hubbs

Tell us a little bit about the history of the fair.

NADA began in 2003, and at that time, it was held in a vacant retail space off of Lincoln Road and had a total of forty galleries in the fair. In 2004, the fair was supposed to take place in the ballroom of a hotel on South Beach (The Seville, now The Edition), however, in the fall of 2004 a hurricane hit Miami Beach and the ballroom and lobby of the Seville were deemed unsafe for use and we were forced to look for a new venue. We moved the fair off the beach to the Ice Palace where we stayed until 2008. The crash of the market in 2008 encouraged us to reconsider things and in December of 2009, we moved the fair to the Deauville Beach Resort in North Beach at 67th and Collins. Ironically, this year we once again had to move the fair due to, among other things, Hurricane Irma, and are now happily back at our original home, The Ice Palace Film Studios.

How do you, as fair director, ensure that the event stays contemporary and current in the fast-paced world that is the art market?

I can hardly say that I do this alone! I have a Board of Directors and other committees that help NADA stay relevant. Community, race, gender, culture, and the discussions around these subjects are important to us and we hope this is reflected in how we present our fairs. As a relatively small non-profit arts organization, we can be light on our feet, which gives us flexibility and the freedom to keep lots of things in conversation.

Installation view at NADA Miami Beach
Installation view at NADA Miami Beach

Is there something in this year’s program that you are particularly looking forward to?

There are several things I’m excited about for this year’s NADA Miami. For the first time, we are initiating the NADA Acquisition Gift for PAMM. This is a monetary gift from NADA to the Pérez Art Museum for the museum to make a purchase from the fair for their permanent collection. NADA is always looking for ways to deepen our relationship with institutions based in Miami so we are thrilled to be partnering with PAMM in this way.

Also, we are thrilled that SVIT gallery from Prague, who won our International Gallery Prize last year, is returning this year and will be presenting a new performance by Czech artist Jirí Kovanda. Kovanda will be performing on an ongoing basis on Thursday, 7th December 2017 between 2-7pm, then again on Saturday, 9th December 2017 from 2-4pm.

What do the artworks being presented at this year’s fair reveal about the current trends and market?

This is a very important moment in the year for everyone exhibiting in Miami, and the galleries and their artists make a great effort to present their best work. At NADA this year, it's great to see not only so many young galleries, but also so many galleries that were at NADA when we were at the Ice Palace ten years ago. I think this reveals a group of galleries that are all commonly focused on building strong programs with deep commitments to their artists, and makes for a really dynamic, varied experience.

Installation view at NADA Miami Beach
Installation view at NADA Miami Beach

What advice do you have for the collectors that will be attending the fair this year?

Don’t leave empty handed and buy what you love. You won’t regret it.

In addition to NADA, what exhibition or event is on your “must-see” list?

The new ICA building and their inaugural shows and NADA’s Benefit Party for Puerto Rico on Friday, 8th December 2017 with La Exitosa. Please come and support Puerto Rico.

All images courtesy NADA

More Information on NADA

Insiders (67)

Wilhelmina Jewell Strong - Sparks

Founder of BiTHOUSE Projects - BAAR Art Journey

MATTHIAS ARNDT

Collector behind the ARNDT Collection

Sandra Guimarães

Director of Museum of Contemporary Art Helga de Alvear

Grazyna Kulczyk

Founder of Muzeum Susch

THE FAIREST

Interview with Georgie Pope and Eleonora Sutter, Co-founders

Kamiar Maleki

Director at VOLTA

Gallery Weekend Berlin 2022

Tokini Peterside

Founder and Director, ART X Lagos

Poka-Yio

Founding Director of the Athens Biennale

Boris Ondreička

Artistic Director of viennacontemporary

Maribel Lopez

Director of ARCO

David Gryn

Founder and Director of Daata

Fondation Beyeler Audiovisual Broadcast

Fondation Beyeler and Nordstern Basel present Dixon x Transmoderna

Gary Yeh

Founder of ArtDrunk and Young Collector

WATCH: The Best of the BMW Art Guide

Where will you travel next to explore art?

Maike Cruse

2020 Gallery Weekend Berlin

Touria El Glaoui

Founding Director of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

Johann König

Messe in St. Agnes

PArt - Producers Art Platform

A crisis initiative to help artists directly affected by the pandemic

Barbara Moore

CEO of Biennale of Sydney

Unique Collector’s Item

by Independent Collectors

Alix Dana

Fair Director at Independent

When Collectors are Able to Commission

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Juliet Kothe and Julia Rust

Initiators of Collection Night, Berlin

Marie-Anne McQuay

Curator of Wales in Venice, 58th Venice Biennale 2019

Dorothy and Herb Vogel

Two extraordinary art collectors

Every Art Collection Needs Space

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Collecting Art with François Pinault

Rudolf Stingel at Palazzo Grassi

A Common Ground

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Caroline Vos

Director at Amsterdam Art Weekend

Hidden Collections

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Nicole Berry

Executive Director of The Armory Show

Daniel Hug

Fair Director at Art Cologne

The Role of the Art Fair

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Peter Bläuer

Director at LISTE

A Brush Against Nature

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Ilaria Bonacossa

Director of Artissima

Excessiveness, the Latent Danger of Collecting Art

by Independent Collectors

Jo Stella-Sawicka

Artistic Director at Frieze

Florence Bourgeois

Director at Paris Photo

Where Artists Can Work More Playfully

by Christiane Meixner

Specifically Commissioned

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Manuela Mozo

Executive Director of UNTITLED, ART Miami and San Francisco

Important Museums and Private Collections

by Christiane Meixner

Susanna Corchia

Director of the Barcelona Gallery Weekend

Emilia van Lynden

Artistic Director at Unseen, Amsterdam

Carlos Urroz

Director at ARCOmadrid

Shoe Smudges Streaked Across the White Walls

by Christiane Meixner

Amanda Coulson

Director at VOLTA Basel

Douwe Cramer

Director at Singapore Contemporary

Art and Architecture – Attractive Allies

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Jo Baring

Curator of Sculpture Series, Masterpiece London

Bidders and Buyers

by Christiane Meixner

Anne Vierstraete

Managing Director at Art Brussels

Nanna Hjortenberg

Director at CHART

The Crucial Role of the New

by Independent Collectors

Makers and Believers

On Art History’s Most Famous Patrons

The Past is Back

And collectors are buying it up

Are Artists the Better Curators?

On the diminishing boundary between professions in the art world

The Digital Museum

On the importance of the museum’s web presence

The Man in the Middle

On the curator’s private and public engagements

A Private Matter?

On the importance of physical space for the value of art

Off the Wall

How museums contribute to the worth of artworks

Where to Go Next?

The fragmentation of Manhattan’s gallery scene

To Buy or Not to Buy

Collectors on their experiences of letting an artwork slip away

How to Pass On a Passion

On long-term challenges for new private museums