BMW Art Journey winner Jamal Cyrus to present new artworks of his travels to the “Afro-Atlantic”. BMW is official partner of Art Basel in Miami Beach 2018.

Miami Beach. From December 6 to 9, 2018, the Art Basel show in Miami Beach will present a wide range of artistic oeuvres by emerging and established artists represented by more than 200 of the leading galleries worldwide to the international art world. As longstanding global partner of the show, BMW will offer its VIP shuttle service once again and present the new artworks of last year’s BMW Art Journey winner Jamal Cyrus at the BMW Lounge at the fair. Furthermore, the publication covering the BMW Art Journey of Max Hooper Schneider, winner of the prize in 2016, will be presented. For the launch of the brand-new BMW X7, the street artist Spencer „MAR“ Guilburt will be digitally accompanied on a Mural Tour through the city of Miami visiting murals newly created by him and existing murals which have informed his work.

BMW Art Journey
Launched in 2015, the BMW Art Journey is a collaboration between Art Basel and BMW, created to recognize and support emerging artists worldwide. This unique award is open to artists who are exhibiting in the Discoveries sector during Art Basel in Hong Kong. A judging panel comprised of internationally renowned experts meet first to select a shortlist of three artists from the sector, who are then invited to submit proposals for a journey aimed to further develop their ideas and artistic work. The jury reconvenes to choose a winner from the three proposals.

Last year’s winner, Jamal Cyrus (represented by Inman Gallery, Houston) will be on-site presenting the artworks of his BMW Art Journey about the notion of the Afro-Atlantic.
The idea of the Afro-Atlantic provides the conceptual underpinning for Jamal Cyrus’ journey. It is, in his own words, “an intercontinental and multinational geography describing the circulation of ideas between Africa, Europe, and the Americas.” Inspired in part by Paul Gilroy’s writings from the early 1990s, Cyrus aims to examine the many diverse cultural hybrids that have emerged through protracted interaction between the continents. Such cultural hybrids – molded by forces of conquest, colonization, slavery, industry, migration, and philosophy – can be apprehended in the cultural centers Cyrus visited. These include among others the Elmina Castle in Accra, Ghana; the Theatre Champs-Elysees, in Paris, France; Brixton's Electric Avenue, in, London, England; the Alhambra in Granada, Spain; and Congo Square, in New Orleans, United States.

The purpose of Jamal Cyrus’ BMW Art Journey was to gain a fuller understanding of the creative tradition he sees himself belonging to, and to experience the different cultures of the Afro-Atlantic. Cyrus began the journey by entering the African continent where many Africans left, Cape Coast, Ghana. From that point he retraced migrations within the African diaspora, learning how African practices and principles were absorbed by new cultures and geographies.

Jamal Cyrus states: “Insights from this voyage will have ripple effects within my practice for years. I was able to observe my home country from across the Atlantic and experience the influence of the African diaspora on contemporary African culture.”

The publication about the BMW Art Journey of Max Hooper Schneider (represented by High Art, Paris and announced as winner at Art Basel's Miami Beach show in 2016) will be launched at the fair, which was also supported by Art Basel and BMW.

Max Hooper Schneider’s journey investigated reef systems from the Bikini Atoll to the Fukushima disaster “reef” in Japan, from Lake Baikal in Russia to the coast of Madagascar, and produced a diverse narrative around them. Importantly, each reef system has been compromised by its contact with humans, and each one reveals a specific aspect of how this interaction has occurred, as well as how human and non-human agents have acted over time to remediate the damage. Together, the reefs tell a story of death and resilience, corruption and rebirth.

BMW X7 Mural Tour with Spencer „MAR“ Guilburt
Paying homage to Miami as a hub for street art, BMW partnered up with street artist Spencer „MAR” Guilburt. He will go on a tour with the brand-new BMW X7, which just celebrated its world premiere at LA Auto Show, to visit murals in the city of Miami – partly newly created by him and partly created by other artists whom are an inspiration to him. The murals are located across Miami, from Wynwood Art District, South Beach to Midtown Design District. The BMW X7 Mural Tour with Spencer „MAR“ Guilburt will be shared on the social media channels of the artist,BMW and is a collaboration with the Urban Art Group.

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BMW i & Soho House Art and Design Talk December 4, 2018 at 8:00 pm – The Future of Art in a Digital Age
Together with BMW i Soho Beach House will host a lively discussion about the future of art in a digital age. Panelists are Brian Bress, a pioneer in video art, and Jamal Cyrus, latest BMW Art Journey recipient, moderated by András Szántó. As always the BMW joint event focusses on the fertile ground between art, innovation and design and is followed by a cocktail reception.  As part of an ongoing collaboration, Soho House and BMW i have co-created an international program of events and experiences focusing on art, innovation and design throughout Soho House locations in Europe and North America.

BMW is a global partner of Art Basel and has supported Art Basel’s three shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong for many years.

For further questions please contact:
Prof. Dr Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs
Head of Cultural Engagement
Phone: +49 89 382 24 753
www.press.bmwgroup.com
E-Mail: presse@bmw.de

Dorothee Dines
Art Basel
Art Basel Globale Leitung Media Relations
Telefon: +41 58 206 27 06
E-Mail: dorothee.dines@artbasel.com

About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world's premier art shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through a number of new initiatives such as Art Basel Cities, working with partner cities on bespoke cultural programs. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.

About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group's Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. In 2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich, Moscow and London, the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities – as this initiative is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.

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The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and more than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a workforce of 129,932 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

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