Last week the sun-drenched streets of Miami played host to the artistic elite as the city hosted the 13th annual edition of Art Basel Miami Beach. Each year, the art fair sees a number of carefully-curated galleries and exhibition sectors presented to an audience of international press, supporting new talent by broadening its reach. It seems fitting that the fair took place in the Wynwood Art District, an area established in 2003 by a group of curators which now ranks as one of the largest open-air street-art installations in the world. 

Once a run-down district of Miami, Wynwood’s appearance has transformed in the last decade mainly thanks to the works of graffiti emerging around the area. From an enormous mural of a man with a horned beetle’s head to colourful depictions of a suited man exiting a giant flower, the unorthodox artwork surrounding the district makes it a perfect fit for Art Basel. The community spirit is still strong too – the district plays host to a bi-monthly art walk, entitled “Second Saturday”.

Over the course of this year’s Art Basel Miami, one of the many events which took place was a collaboration between G-Star and WeTransfer, who teamed up to present the second edition of their ‘Tone to Transfer’ series, a celebration of unorthodox talent. The first of this year’s featured artists was Jasmine Solano, an international DJ renowned for her work with superstars such as Beyoncé and Wiz Khalifa.

Solano was the resident DJ at the event, playing a specially-curated megamix to a crowd consisting of international press and local art enthusiasts. Her work served as a soundtrack to an exhibition of pieces by Greg Lamarche, a New York-based artist inspired heavily by graffiti. Presented in the form of various collages, the aim behind Lamarche’s work is to juxtapose print from commercial newspapers with found materials, resulting in unique pieces intended to blur the aesthetics of fine art.

As well as commemorating the 20th anniversary of G-Star’s Elwood jeans, ‘Tone to Transfer’ follows the mantra of accessible art championed by thriving districts such as Wynwood. By providing a platform for upcoming creatives, the companies involved are helping to shape the future of the global art scene.