MIAMI BEACH, FL.- This year’s edition of «Art Basel Conversations» features thematic panel discussions based around the topics of «Collectors as Producers», «The Future of the Museum in India», «Women in Art», and «Criticizing Art Criticism». Leading artists, collectors, curators, and critics will be participating as panelists and then meeting with the audience. Speakers include such prominent personalities as Anupam Poddar, Patrizia Re Rebaudengo, Maja Hoffmann, Richard Flood, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Dave Hickey, and Daniel Birnbaum. The series reflects Art Basel’s commitment to enhancing the exchange of ideas among the art world’s movers and shakers. It is complemented by «Art Salon», where publishers, artists, and art institutions can present their latest projects in a more intimate frame-work and will be discussing subjects including the art scenes of France, Russia, China, New Zealand, and Miami.

Fostering direct encounters with leading personalities from the world of art, «Art Basel Conversations» offers privileged access to first-hand information on aspects of collecting and exhibiting art. «Art Basel Conversations» is a forum encouraging the exchange of ideas by means of panel discussions and personal contact with the panelists. Participants include prominent artists, art collectors, and critics. Discussing their experiences and the challenges they face, they will provide an insider’s view of the art scene. «Art Basel Conversations» is an open platform for dynamic and inspiring dialogue.

From Wednesday, December 5, through Sunday, December 9, «Art Basel Conversations» will be held every day between 10 and 11.30 a.m. at the Art Guest Lounge, Entrance Hall (D) of the Miami Beach Convention Center. The events are public. Admission is free. A comprehensive catalog published to ac­company «Art Basel Conversations» contains transcripts of the panel discussions held during Art 38 Basel in June 2007, with biographies of all the participants and further useful information. Visitors to «Art Basel Conversations» will receive a complimentary copy of the publication.

Many important artists will be appearing at «Art Basel Conversations» and «Art Salon», among them Gary Hill, Marina Abramovic, Dara Birnbaum, Valie Export, Susan Hiller, Sharon Lockhart, Ingrid Schaffner, Liam Gillick, Shilpa Gupta, Carsten Höller, Cao Fei, Sergei Bugaev Afrika, Joan Jonas, Haluk Akakçe, and Dara Friedman.

The Premiere of «Art Basel Conversations», on Wednesday, December 5, honors a major artist of our time. Among the celebrated artists featured at past Premieres of «Art Basel Conversations» are Robert Rauschenberg, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, and John Baldessari. This year in Miami, «Art Basel Conversations» will be honoring Marina Abramovic.

On Thursday, December 6, collectors Patrizia Re Rebaudengo, Maja Hoffmann, José Noe Suro, and host Richard Flood (Chief Curator, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York) will be discussing «Collectors as Producers». The questions they will be addressing include: To what extent do today's collectors contribute to or influence the practice of art-making? What issues and risks are involved in opening a private collection to the public and managing its long-term sustainability? What responsibility do such collections have towards existing museums and other public institutions? How do collectors work with artists in terms of production?

The Art Basel Conversation of Friday, December 7, is devoted to «The Future of the Museum in India». The past few years have witnessed a steady growth in the national and interna­tional significance of the Indian art scene. This panel discus­sion promises to offer first-hand information from a new art world that remains relatively unknown in the West. What are the essential building blocks of contemporary art institutions in India? How do art institutions in India handle issues of security and conservation? How do they collaborate with artists, galler­ies, and other museums? What is the political, social, or edu­cational role of a museum? What is the role of local museums in a global society? The panelists are Savita Apte (independ­ent curator and art historian, Mumbai), Suman Gopinath (Curator, Colab Art & Architecture, Bangalore), Shilpa Gupta (artist, Mumbai), Ranjit Hoskote (poet, cultural theorist, and independent curator, Mumbai), Peter Nagy (gallerist, Nature Morte, Mumbai), Anupam Poddar (collector, Delhi), Sandhini Poddar (art historian and art critic, New York), and Rakhi Sarkar (Curator and Director, CIMA – Centre of International Modern Art, Calcutta). Co-hosts will be: Hans Ulrich Obrist (Co-Director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects, Serpentine Gallery, London) and Julia Peyton-Jones (Director, Serpentine Gallery, London).

On Saturday, December 8, the discussion will revolve around the ever timely topic of «Women in Art». Is it right to attribute importance to gender when it comes to artistic success? How satisfactory have conditions in the art world become for women? To what extent is the revolution still in progress? What is the role of feminism in art today? What is the institu­tional and market approach to women and their art? On the panel: artists Marina Abramovic, Dara Birnbaum, Valie Export, Susan Hiller, Sharon Lockhart and Ingrid Schaffner. Host: Peter Aspden (arts writer, Financial Times, London).
Under the heading of «Criticizing Art Criticism», critics includ­ing Liam Gillick (artist, critic, New York), Dave Hickey (critic, Las Vegas), Holger Liebs, (critic, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Munich), Raphael Rubinstein (Art in America, New York), and Adrian Searle (critic, The Guardian, London) will be discussing questions like: Is there too much art criticism in today’s media? Has the role of the critic changed since you began in the profession? Has the authority of the market dimin­ished the authority of the art critic? Have art-world economics diminished the authority of the art critic? Is art criticism a local or a global practice? Host: Daniel Birnbaum (critic, Rector of the Städelschule art academy and Director of Portikus, Frankfurt).

«Art Salon» is an open forum for discussions and presenta­tions with an emphasis on current themes in contemporary art. While «Art Basel Conversations» are held in their own 200-seat auditorium, «Art Salon» takes place in the more intimate framework (70 seats) of the «Art Guest Lounge». «Art Salon» also features book launches, artist talks, and lectures. Every afternoon, artists, publishers, biennale and museums directors, and critics are given one-hour slots to present their latest pro­jects. The line-up includes the well-known art critic Josh Baer (publisher of the Baer Faxt), who will be talking about the «10 Do’s and Don’ts of Collecting at Art Fairs». Silvia Karman Cubiñá (Director of The Moore Space, Miami), Jérôme Sans (Director of Programmes, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK), Caroline Bourgeois (Artistic Director, Le Plateau, Paris), Tatiana Trouvé (artist), Mathieu Mercier, (artist), and Saadane Afif (artist) will be discussing «French Kissin’ in the U.S.A.», a show at The Moore Space in Miami. Philippe Vergne (Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Walker Art Center) and Daniel Moquay (Yves Klein Estate and Archives, Paris) will be talking about «The Cult of the Body in the Work of Yves Klein». Julie Sylvester (Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg), Sergei Bratkov (artist), Sergei Bugaev Afrika (artist), Dmitry Bulnygin (artist), Aidan Salakhov (artist and gallerist), and Sergey Shekhovtsov (artist) will be considering the «RUSSIA Miami 2007» exhibition. «Vitamin Creative Space» in Guangzhou, China, will be presented by Hu Fang (writer, critic, curator, and co-founder of Vitamin Creative Space), Zhang Wei (curator, writer, and co-founder of Vitamin Creative Space), Cao Fei (artist, Beijing), and Liu Wei (artist, Beiji