From Friday, January 13, through Sunday, January 15, the annual Art Deco Weekend returns to Miami Beach with a Lummus Park epicenter radiating to Ocean Drive and beyond. For its 46th installment, the theme is "Art Deco Worldwide."
"Each year is always a fun challenge — for our committee and our partners — to select to select a theme and program," Daniel Ciraldo, executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL), tells New Times. "For this year, not only will this event be a public celebration, but it is a nice preview to the 2023 World Congress on Art Deco, which will take place in Miami for the first time in 30 years later this year."
The World Congress on Art Deco launched in 1990 and has taken place every other year in cities like Shanghai, Havana, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, and Montreal. Key to the experience is an extensive series of tours of art deco properties, lectures, and exhibits on the architectural style and parties aplenty. The 2023 World Congress on Art Deco will take place in Miami and Miami Beach from April 20-28.
But before then, it's time for Art Deco Weekend, which attracts 100,000-plus visitors and becomes more multifaceted by the year.
This year's event components — which range from free to ticketed — include an artisan market open daily, select film screenings at O Cinema South Beach (like the 1932 romance flick starring Greta Garbo, Grand Hotel), morning workouts and yoga on Muscle Beach, a classic car show, and lectures at the Wolfsonian that include topics like Liu Jipiao, the father of Chinese art deco architecture.
On the tunes front, organizers just announced the Cab Calloway Orchestra, directed by Cab's grandson Chris Calloway Brooks, for a special performance on January 14 at the Jazz Age Stage. (A complete list of concerts and events throughout the weekend is available at artdecoweekend.org.)
Among the more popular components of the annual spectacle are the architectural tours along Ocean Drive. Its "South Beach Scandals" tour is also a hit, zooming in on the likes of Al Capone and Dudley Whiteman's shady business dealings within art deco masterpieces.
Classic cars, vendors, and more line up along Ocean Drive for Art Deco Weekend.
Miami Design Preservation League photo
"This continues to be such an important event for us," Ciraldo says. "We're so thankful to everyone who has been helping out. We're hoping the weather holds out and we have another great weekend."
Art Deco Weekend. Noon to 10 p.m. Friday, January 13; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, January 14; and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, January 15; at Ocean Drive and Lummus Park between Fifth and 12th Streets, Miami Beach; artdecoweekend.org. Ticket prices vary.
