City of Miami Beach Legacy Purchase Program 2025
Purpose:
In 2019, the City established the Legacy Purchase Program (the “Program”) through its Art in Public Places initiative. The purpose of the Program is to strengthen the connection and collaboration between the City of Miami Beach and Art Basel Miami Beach and engaging residents in the purchase of artwork for the City’s Art in Public Places (“AiPP”) Collection.
Curatorial Vision
Artworks acquired by the City should add value to the public art collection, attract international attention and celebrate the diversity and heritage of our community. The Program will consider artwork, including but not limited to, painting, video, photography, sculpture and installation-based works. The Program seeks to strategically expand the City’s current public art collection by pursuing artwork that is reflective of our community, that is aligned with the curatorial direction of our existing collection, reflects artistic excellence and relevance in terms of current artistic practices, is work of a national and/or internationally recognized artist, is a sustainable artwork in a public environment, and is a valuable investment to the AiPP Collection. Artwork submissions must not contain obscenity, explicit sexual material, nudity, profanity, or graphic violence. Previous works acquired through the Legacy Purchase Program include works by Amoako Boafo, Ebony G. Patterson, Farah Al Qasimi, and Nina Surel, among others.
Funding
The funding for the Program shall be up to USD $50,000.00, including the purchase and all other associated acquisition fees. Maintenance and conservation of the artwork will fall under Art in Public Places Fund 147 and the City’s AiPP guidelines and is not included in the purchase price.
Artwork Selection
Facilitated by Art Basel, galleries taking part in the Nova, Positions, or newcomers joining the Galleries sector from Nova or Positions within the last four years will receive a “Call to Galleries” invitation to submit up to three (3) works that meet the program’s curatorial vision and guidelines, as described above.
From those submissions, the City of Miami Beach Administration will select ten (10) works for review by the City’s AiPP Committee (the “Committee”) during a regularly scheduled, and publicly noticed AiPP Committee meeting. The Committee will select three (3) works of art to put to a public vote via online social channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter). Galleries that do not make the recommended three (3) artworks will be notified on November 18, 2025, by 3:00 p.m. EST.
The City will create an online poll and promote online voting through various channels. Voting starts at approximately Friday, November 21, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. EST and will be open until Monday, November 24, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EST. Galleries will be notified of the voting results on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, by 3:00 p.m. EST.
The work of art with the most votes will be announced by the City and Art Basel Miami Beach on the morning of Tuesday, December 2, 2025, and the artwork will be acquired by the City on that same day.
Location & Installation
The artwork will be displayed within a dedicated, publicly accessible area of the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) or within City Hall or City owned property. The site will be determined based on the type of work selected, maintenance, size, and fragility of the piece. The ideal spaces are within the MBCC East Lobby, which currently displays the seven (7) works acquired to date through the Legacy Purchase Program. The artwork will be installed by professional art handlers.
Maintenance & Relocation
Maintenance and conservation of the piece will fall under Art in Public Places Fund 147 and the City’s AiPP guidelines. The galleries participating will submit a maintenance plan with the artwork as part of the initial agreement. The artwork will be incorporated into the routinely scheduled AiPP maintenance plan. Conservation and maintenance are handled by a pool of art conservators who regularly work with the City. Should the artwork need to be moved for any reason, the City will employ professional art handlers to relocate the work to another publicly accessible area where the work can be prominently featured as recommended by the AiPP Committee.
Guidelines for Gallery Submissions
Submitting galleries and artists are required to:
1. Be a registered Art Basel 2025 exhibitor; participating in either the Nova or Positions sectors; or newcomers joining the Galleries sector from Nova or Positions within the last four years (2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022)
2. Submit at least one (1) but no more than three (3) works of art, each priced under USD $50,000.00 (inclusive of all sales related fees); You may also submit a body of work if the pieces represent a singular artwork;
3. Provide 2-3 high-resolution images of the work, an artist bio and a project statement; video is also welcome.
4. The three (3) semi-finalists selected by the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places Committee must reserve the artwork from any other purchase until November 26, 2025, when voting is completed and finalists are notified. If the work is not selected for the Program, the work can be released for purchase;
5. Consent and participate in public relations activities and short interview(s) regarding the Program and the art (if availability allows); including, but not limited to:
· Public sharing of images of the artwork
· Reference to gallery and /or artist
· Submit a maintenance plan for the artwork
Project Timeline
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Art Basel to introduce the Legacy Purchase Program to Art Basel Miami Beach Galleries and Exhibitors participating in the Nova and Positions sectors of the fair along with newcomers joining the main sector from Nova or Positions within the last four years
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
AiPP Committee to review and recommend three (3) artwork submissions for public voting. Galleries notified of AiPP Committee recommendations
Friday, November 21, 2025
Public voting goes live at 9:00 a.m.
Monday, November 24, 2025
Public voting closes at 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Galleries notified of public voting results by 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Winner announced and City of Miami Beach purchases artwork.
For questions regarding the application process, please contact Danielle Bender, Cultural Affairs Manager at DanielleBender@miamibeachfl.gov or Oscar Rieveling, Art in Public Places Coordinator at OscarRievelingSanchez@miamibeachfl.gov.