Crypto seems to be asserting its dominance in the art world after the international design fair, Design Miami, announced the acceptance of Bitcoin payments. Through a statement to Bitcoin Magazine, the fair revealed that it would receive crypto payments for the first time in this year’s edition.
This year’s international fair will be at the Miami Beach from December 1st all the way to December 5th. Design Miami will hold this 17th edition alongside Art Basel and will feature presentations from 19 curio exhibits. Additionally, art exhibitions from 22 top galleries in the world.
On top of accepting BTC tokens, the international fair also announced its cell app. The international fair was keen to share their excitement on the launch of their mobile app. Through the app, customers have access to a variety of services at their fingertips. These services are inclusive of discovering and buying artwork.
Design Miami’s International Fair
The announcement by Design Miami to accept Bitcoin payment would be the fair’s first interaction with crypto payments. This would make Design Miami the first major fair in the world to accept crypto payments! According to the fair’s statement, any customer paying for any art purchase using BTC should do so through Coinbase.
Apart from incorporating the world’s largest crypto coin, Design Miami is set to include several unique NFTs. NFTs, otherwise known as non-fungible tokens, refer to unique representations of digital art and physical objects. NFTs, although a new occurrence, have been a major topic of discussion in the crypto market.
The NFTs that will be included at the Design Miami international fair are to be “commissioned from a select group of artists-designers.” Additionally, these NFT designers and artists are to be “affiliated with Design Miami’s global inventive group.”
This year’s edition of the fair, the 17th to be exact, will feature talks from big names in design, structure, and artwork. Some of the big names are model fashion designer Samuel Ross, fashion designer Daniel Arsham, and architect Florencia Rodriguez. It is also worth noting that this year’s fair will have a hybrid layout featuring both virtual and in-person talks.
More on Design Miami
Design Miami is an international fair that happens in Miami, Florida, annually in the first five days of December. The show has a sister fair known as “Design Miami, Basel” that takes place every June in Basel, Switzerland.
Real estate developer Craig Robins founded the fair in 2005. Design Miami’s original director was Ambra Medda, a design consultant. Each edition of the Design Miami fairs showcases lighting fixtures, museum-quality furnishings, and objects d’artwork from vetted galleries worldwide.
The international fairs not only consist of art exhibitions but also feature awards and talk presentations. Design Miami fairs attract various critics, collectors, designers, and gallerists from across the world. The fair’s most successful edition was the 2017 one. It featured 47 design galleries and accrued 28,000 people in attendance.