From December 5-7, 2017, Art Basel goers had the opportunity to dance inside an art installation that “doubled” as a fully-functioning nightclub. “The Prada Double Club Miami”, a Carsten Höller project by Fondazione Prada, opened for just three days in a former Miami film studio complex. The installation offered a unique approach to entertainment and hospitality with the intention of sparking dialogue about music, lifestyle, contemporary art, and design. In this creation Höller, a German artist based in Stockholm set out to investigate the notion of two sides: he designed two unique spaces which offered visually and acoustically opposed experiences, with no sense of connectivity or fusion.
One side of the installation/nightclub was an entirely monochromatic indoor room with rotating dance floor. Walking inside resembled stepping into a black and white photograph, even the bartenders were covered in grey paint and wore white gloves. The only drinks they made were clear or black; no colorful mixers available.
The other side was an outdoor hyper- polychromatic garden with ambitious neon lighting. While International DJ’s played inside, a range of Caribbean and South American musicians such as Wyclef Jean performed outside.Each performer embodied the oppositional concept behind the project itself: guests and clubbers were able to cross permeable boundaries to venture into a double dimension and “schizophrenic” journey. “The Prada Double Club Miami” made it possible for art to move outside its usual restrictive contexts transforming it into a real-life experience perfect for Art Basel.
