Mariah the Scientist performs at EBONY FWD, Art Basel 2023. Image: De’Angelo McNair for EBONY.
EBONY FWD, presented by Coca-Cola® Zero Sugar, made its splashy debut at Art Basel Miami 2023 with an unforgettable immersive experience of art, music and culture.
Held at The Temple House in Miami’s South Beach and supported by Nationwide, the two-day event featured physical and digital installations from 11 Black multimedia artists, stellar performances and an engaging artist talkback.
DJ Kitty Ca$h spun tunes for EBONY FWD’s standing-room-only opening night event on December 9, where Mariah the Scientist kicked off the evening with a high-octane performance of “Stone Cold” and “Spread Thin.” Chance the Rapper then took the stage and electrified the crowd with three signature songs: “No Problem,” “The Highs & The Lows” and “All Night.”
Stylish guests sipped on Coca-Cola® Zero Sugar and nibbled light bites from Chef Amaris Jones while taking in the artwork hung throughout the venue. Art also splashed across the venue’s walls and ceiling through a digital display that also featured a massive collection of EBONY covers spanning over eight decades and Coca-Cola® Zero Sugar’s engaging video that brought EBONY FWD talkback speaker Wonder Buhle Mbambo’s portrait work to life.
Community Crusader artist Tiffanie Anderson, presented by Nationwide, featured three works from her astonishing glass-created collection. “I feel this EBONY FWD event has given me life,” she declared over her portraits of President Barack Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jean-Michel Basquiat. “I just had a baby, and I felt like I’d lost a little sense of self. This event reminded me of who I am as an artist.”
On December 10, guests once again entered the space via a red carpet flanked with more covers, including that of EBONY’s founder, John H. Johnson.
VIP guest Vivica A. Fox shared, “EBONY stands for excellence, Black excellence. So to come here for Art Basel and to be able to take in the culture in this way, it just seems very fitting.”
The other exhibited artists at EBONY FWD were Charly Palmer, Krista Clark, Michi Meko, Khalilah Birdsong, Hasani Sahlehe, Jon Moody, Cheryl Fox, Morel Doucet and Tracy Guiteau.
All Gallery Images: De’Angelo McNair for EBONY.