Nearly 70,000 tourists flocked to The Miami Convention Center last week for Art Basel--an international art fair with annual shows in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach, Florida; and Hong Kong, China. Art Basel showcases contemporary artworks by established and newly emerging artists from across the globe. UBS, the title sponsor of Art Basel in Miami Beach, has a long history of supporting the communities in which it works. To honor the Miami community and its unique art culture, this year's UBS Planet Art Lounge featured ArtLifting's own David McCauley.
David is a mixed media artist. His work blends design, sculpture, typography, and repurposed materials. His urban contemporary artwork is held in prestigious private collections worldwide and has been featured internationally in solo and group exhibitions with such institutions as SCOPE Art Show, Galerie Lano (Paris), Cheryl Hazan Gallery (NYC), Projective Space (NYC), and The Richmond Art Museum. In 2008, David sustained a spinal cord injury at the C6 vertebrae that impaired his hand usage and paralyzed him from the chest down. To cope with the challenges that came with such paralysis, David turned to creating art.
David is also the founder of The Rise Up Gallery and The Little Haiti Laundromat Art Space. Both 501c3 non profit organizations have been awarded numerous accolades for their programs which provide art therapy workshops to the community and studio/exhibition space for artists.
As part of its sponsorship this year, UBS hosted the UBS Planet Art Lounge in the public-access area of the fair. ArtLifting artist David McCauley’s work was showcased through a wall vinyl and take-away coffee cups.
David’s reaction: “I've been fortunate enough to show work in other art fairs, but we all know that Art Basel draws the most prestigious artists, collectors, and gallerists through its doors. It’s humbling to have so many powerful players in the art world exposed to my work.”
ArtLifting is helping artists gain exposure, yes, but beyond that we are trying to show that art can be a driver of social change, that talented artists deserve a chance to have a career making art, and that everyone can contribute to society. We were thrilled to have a presence at Art Basel Miami, not as a traditional booth, but as a point of conversation in the Planet Art Lounge. We hoped this presence would open up a dialogue on the potential that art has to transform lives and communities.