DesignMiami Basel 2022 Returns with 'Golden Age' Theme and New Podium Section

DesignMiami Basel returned for its sixteenth edition in Basel in June 2022, ahead of its highly anticipated Paris debut in October. The fair, originally founded in Florida by Italian curator Ambra Medda, was this year curated by another prominent Italian figure in international design, Maria Cristina Didero. The 2022 edition explored the theme 'L'Età dell'Oro' (The Golden Age), balancing past and present. It also navigated between classic design—at times resembling a high-end furniture fair—and avant-garde, research-driven design through small stands called 'Curio,' which push the boundaries of what constitutes design. A new section, Podium, curated by Didero, offered a museum-like presentation of important works that were nonetheless for sale. At the fair's entrance, a massive installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer greeted visitors: a vast firmament of light bulbs that pulsed in sync with the heartbeats of participants who chose to be tracked.