Vincenzo de Bellis Inaugurates Art Basel Awards in Miami Beach 

Last week during Miami Art Week 2025, Art Basel marked a historic milestone with the debut of the Art Basel Awards, the first global honors dedicated to recognizing excellence across the contemporary art landscape. On December 4, the inaugural Awards Night transformed the Frank Gehry–designed New World Center into a stage for artistic achievement, cross-disciplinary dialogue, and cultural celebration—setting a new benchmark for how creativity and influence are acknowledged on a world stage.

Launched earlier this year in Switzerland, the Art Basel Awards reflect a bold ambition: to identify, support, and spotlight the individuals and organizations shaping the future of contemporary culture. Honorees are selected through a peer-driven process across 11 categories—spanning artists, designers, curators, institutions, patrons, writers, and creative allies—each recognized for vision, skill, engagement, and impact. In addition to global visibility, the program distributes nearly 300,000 dollars annually in honorariums and philanthropic gifts, offers tailored partnerships, and provides opportunities for high-profile commissions, including major public works to be realized during Art Basel in Basel in 2026.

Art Basel Inaugurates Its First Global Awards in Miami Beach

The ceremony’s inaugural edition in Miami Beach brought together an extraordinary cross-section of the arts. Hosted by Grammy Award–winning producer Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, the evening moved fluidly between music, live orchestral performance, architectural projection, and moments of intimate reflection. A powerful live set by Kelsey Lu created the emotional apex of the night, while the after-party—soundtracked by Miami-based DJ and producer Natalia Roth—carried guests into a rooftop celebration overlooking the city’s skyline.

“Hosting the inaugural Art Basel Awards was truly an honor,” said Dean. “For the first time, the entire arts ecosystem—from artists to cultural leaders and the many people working behind the scenes around the world—was recognized on a global stage. Through The Dean Collection, we’ve always believed in championing artists, and tonight embodied that energy in the most powerful way. Being invited to lead the first edition was deeply meaningful, and I’m proud to have helped set the tone for a night that will resonate for years to come. ‘By the artist, For the artist, With the people!”

Honoring Creative Excellence

Honorees included a distinguished range of cultural voices—Cecilia Vicuña, Nairy Baghramian, Ibrahim Mahama, Mohammad Alfaraj, Saodat Ismailova, Formafantasma, Joel Wachs, RAW Material Company, Candice Hopkins, Gasworks/Triangle Network, and Negar Azimi—and each was presented with a one-of-a-kind blown-glass trophy designed by Jacques Herzog of Herzog & de Meuron. The night also introduced the BOSS Award for Outstanding Achievement, awarded to Meriem Bennani for her bold cultural impact.

Attendees included a remarkable gathering of artists, curators, gallerists, patrons, and creative figures, including Es Devlin, Beeple, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Khalid, A$AP Ferg, Nicola Vassell, Don and Mera Rubell, Pablo León de la Barra, and more.

The evening also marked a significant moment for Art Basel’s leadership. Vincenzo de Bellis, the fair’s Chief Artistic Officer and Global Director of Fairs, has been instrumental in shaping the Awards’ mission, structure, and long-term vision. His presence throughout the week—from the ceremony and celebrations to exhibitions, performances, and citywide programming—reflected the breadth of engagement required to introduce a platform of this scale.

Whitewall spoke with de Bellis about what the first edition of the Art Basel Awards represents, how the initiative will evolve, and how Miami Art Week 2025 embodied a new, cross-disciplinary energy. 

WHITEWALL: The inaugural Art Basel Awards awarded 11 artists and creatives for their vision, commitment, and skill. What do they all have in common?

VINCENZO DE BELLIS: What connects them is not a single discipline, but a shared commitment to experimentation, cross-cultural dialogue, and the belief that art can open new ways of seeing the world. Many work fluidly across fields, and our Awards Night reflected exactly that spirit – from the artists’ speeches to the wider creative community gathered in the room. They are all visionaries shaping the future of art – individuals and institutions whose work is already contributing to the cultural narratives of tomorrow.

The Future of Art Basel Awards

WW: How do you hope to continue to shape the Awards?

VDB: Closing the first cycle of the Art Basel Awards with the first Awards Night in Miami Beach last week has been a big milestone for us. Together with our presenting partner BOSS, we’ve laid the foundations for what we vision to become a long-standing and influential platform within the cultural landscape. As with any new initiative, we are now taking a moment to reflect; there is a great deal we have learned, and these insights will help us further sharpen and develop the program for its next edition.

2026 will open a new chapter. We’ll be sharing first details in February, but what I can already say is that we want the Awards to continue creating meaningful encounters that reach beyond the rhythm of our fairs—moments throughout the year that bring artists, thinkers, and cultural producers into conversation with one another.

More concretely, we are currently in ongoing collaboration with our anonymous group of “Observers,” leading figures from across the art world whose perspectives ensure that the Awards remain global in scope and deeply attuned to those who are shaping the future of contemporary culture. This group will nominate the next cohort of 36 Medalists, whom we look forward to announcing next year.

How Art Basel Awards Supports Growth in Art

WW: How does this infrastructure help support artists in ways they haven’t been aided before?

VDB: The Awards highlight not only artists, but also the people who make ambitious artistic projects possible – curators, writers, patrons, institutions. From the outset, it was important to us to create a cultural program that stands apart in the field: one that recognizes the full spectrum of artistic production and brings visibility to the individuals and institutions who shape culture, both onstage and behind the scenes.

For artists, the program offers a combination of immediate support and long-term opportunity. This includes the distribution of nearly 300,000 dollars annually in honorariums and philanthropic gifts, as well as global networking opportunities, tailored partnerships, and high-profile commissions that can bring their work to new audiences. For instance, the two Gold Awardees in the Established Artist category will realize two major public commissions for Art Basel in Basel in 2026.

Over time, we hope to build a strong alumni community—a network of artists and cultural practitioners who remain connected and support one another across borders and disciplines.

WW: How would you describe the past Miami Art Week in three words?

VDB: Vibrant, curious, cross-disciplinary.