My first Art Basel: Bernard Lumpkin

‘When we first went to Art Basel Miami Beach, in 2005, Carmine [Boccuzzi] and I were already married, but we did not have kids. I was working at MTV and we stayed at The Avalon on Ocean Drive, a hotel I knew from a hip-hop documentary shoot I had worked on. Staying in this part of South Beach was a way to connect with the illustrious Miami past of Madonna and Versace. But there is always something cool and special to the city!

‘That year, like pretty much every year, I was always in conversation with gallerists before I had even arrived. They always get there first because they have to set up their booths, and if you are not physically in Miami on the first day of the fair, they'll call you and say: "This big-shot collector just walked into my booth and wants that artwork you were asking about. So what’s your decision?" The excitement and pressure around the fair already build up before you even arrive.

‘A social and psychological transformation took place on the journey to Miami Beach. At JFK Airport, everyone was in line for the early-morning plane. It was freezing cold when we took off; but when I stepped off the plane, I felt warm air and slowed my pace. I wasn’t any kind of a player. I remember a lot of finagling around getting a VIP Card: If you had an "in" or could borrow someone’s and how long you could use it for. It was like your key to the magic kingdom.

‘Our collecting and patronage has evolved to focus on supporting artists of African descent. While visiting the fair during those early years, I was interested in looking outside the white American story, because of my background: My mother was Sephardic Jewish from Morocco, my father was African American. The goal was to train my eye, learn more about contemporary art, and build relationships. If I ended up buying something, it was because I had made a new discovery. The sculptural practice of Henry Taylor, a painter whose work is in the exhibition and in the book of our collection, Young Gifted and Black, is one of those discoveries. 

One of my mentors is Franklin Sirmans, the director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, whom I met before I first attended the fair. At Art Basel, I was able to continue building the community of curators, writers, thinkers, and makers that is the nexus of so much of what I do. I can always count on running into these friends – especially artists – at Kehinde Wiley’s annual fish fry, which happens on the last weekend of the show. If you're still standing after all the other parties and events, this gathering is definitely worth waiting for.

‘My experience of Art Basel Miami Beach has changed with the birth of our three children. On the wall of our apartment, under a work by Rashid Johnson, there is a framed drawing of a cow that we made on a brunch menu with the kids while dining at The Raleigh in 2016. My sister, the performance artist Narcissister, performs at the nightclubs during the fair too, and participated in the Conversations program. It’s really become a family pilgrimage.'