'New Wave' art weekend hosted in Palm Beach, West Palm

For South Floridians, December is about more than snowbirds and an 80-degree Christmas Day.

For us, the final month of the year is also all about contemporary art, chiefly because that is the month of Art Basel Miami Beach, which since 2002 has drawn modern art lovers to South Florida for Miami Art Week, which includes not just the big Basel show but numerous associated spinoff art events as well.

This weekend, Palm Beach County gets a jump on the Miami Beach gathering (which runs Dec. 8-10 at the Miami Beach Convention Center) with New Wave Art Wknd, which features events at The Square in West Palm Beach, gallery open houses and private collection viewings in Palm Beach, and panel discussions of some of the art scene’s most urgent questions.

Founded in 2018 by Palm Beach gallerist Sarah Gavlak in tandem with her New Wave nonprofit, which advocates for local, national and international underrepresented artists by holding public programs and residencies, New Wave Art Wknd’s theme this year is “The Freedom of Expression.”

“I am so excited for this year's edition of New Wave Art Wknd and to celebrate our fifth anniversary,” Gavlak said in a prepared statement. “This year's theme, ‘The Freedom of Expression,’ is more timely than ever and our conversations could not be more necessary, as basic personal freedoms are under threat.”

New Wave’s patron program offers artists from underrepresented communities a stipend of $5,000 and a studio space at The Square for up to eight weeks. Since the nonprofit’s inception, 15 artists have been in residence at The Square. This year’s resident is photographer Emanuel Hahn of Los Angeles, a Korean-American artist who explores cultural identity and the immigrant experience in his work, which includes a recently published book, Koreatown Dreaming.

The weekend, which has some public events and some more-exclusive patron events, opens Friday afternoon at New Wave’s space in The Square at 3 p.m. with Hahn hosting a studio open house where patrons can also sign in. At 4, on the Lawn at The Square, a panel discussion featuring Russell Craig, Nekisha Durrett, and Pranoo Kumar, will take place; the title of the discussion is “Challenged: Art and the Freedom of Expression.”

At 5 p.m., the Palm Beach Lakes High School Band will march from The Square to Heart and Soul Park, where at about 6:15 p.m. West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James will dedicate Durrett’s new sculpture, “Genius Loci,” which was commissioned for the park. From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., there is a New Wave Art Wknd patron dinner at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach to mark the opening of the museum’s new exhibit, “The Divine Feminine,” which features works by female sculptors.

On Saturday, the events begin at 10 a.m. at UOVO, an art-storage business on Haverhill Road, where visitors can take a tour of the facility and snack on pastries. At 11 a.m., the business hosts a public panel discussion called “What Is Creative Expression Now? Exploring the Role of Art in Today’s Society,” featuring Kathryn Andrews, Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Wendy Red Star and Jasmine Wahi; Michelle Woo is the moderator.

Back at The Square from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., it’s the Dreyfoos Artist Market, while patrons can take in private tours of West Palm Beach galleries including TW Fine Art, with artists Henry Swanson, Max Simon and Ruben Burgess; White Cube, with artist Harland Miller; and Kristin Hjellegjerde, with artist Rufai Zakari. A private collection visit is hosted by Joan and David Genser at their Palm Beach home from 2:30 to 3:45, and from 4 to 5 p.m. there are patron tours of the Worth Avenue art galleries Ben Brown Fine Arts, hosting artist José Parlá, and Dylan Brant, with artist David Salle.

From 5 to 6:30 p.m., the Acquavella gallery in the Royal Poinciana Plaza hosts artist Damian Loeb in an event for patrons, while from 6 to 7 p.m., artist Andrew Brischler is in conversation with Deborah Brown at Gavlak Gallery, a public event. The evening concludes from 8 to 10:30 p.m. with a patron event at the Palm Beach home of Becky Gochman, who is co-founder of The Forge Project, a nonprofit that supports indigenous artists and culture workers.

Sunday begins with a patron tour at the home of Lisa and Richard Perry in Palm Beach, where a private collection tour and brunch will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Also on tap is a panel discussion called “Functional Objects: Blurring the Boundaries of Art and Design,” with Lisa Perry, Nancy Lorenz and Cristina Grajales. The discussion will be moderated by interior designer Charlie Ferrer. From 2 to 3 p.m., Laura Dvorkin and Maynard Monrow will host a first-look tour of new installations at The Bunker Artspace created by art patron Beth Rudin DeWoody at 444 Bunker Road in West Palm Beach.

From 3 to 6 p.m., the public is welcome at the premiere of The Bunker’s 2023 installations, which have been guest-curated by the New York and Los Angeles gallerist Peter Harkawik. At the same time, there will be open houses at the White Cube, TW Fine Art, and Kristin Hjellegjerde galleries in West Palm Beach, and the Gavlak, Acquavella, Ben Brown and Dylan Brant galleries in Palm Beach.

Patron tickets are $2,500 apiece. For more information, or to get a patron ticket, visit New Wave Art Wknd's website at newwave.art/nwaw.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: New Wave art weekend addresses freedom of expression