The Bass, the contemporary art museum in Miami Beach's Collins Park, is introducing Philippe Vergne, its first artistic director and chief curator, at a free evening talk on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. Admission is free with an RSVP, and seating and standing room go first come, first served.

Who he is

Vergne joined The Bass on Oct. 1 in a role the museum created for him. He oversees the museum's artistic direction, exhibitions and public programs, with a stated focus on widening its curatorial range and building ties with artists and partner institutions abroad. Executive director Silvia Karman Cubiñá, who has led The Bass since 2008, continues in her post.

He arrives with a long résumé at major museums on both sides of the Atlantic:

  • Director, Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal (2019 to 2026), where he oversaw the museum's 2024 expansion
  • Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2014 to 2019)
  • Director, Dia Art Foundation, New York (2008 to 2014)
  • Deputy director and chief curator, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1997 to 2008)
  • Director, Musée d'Art Contemporain, Marseille (1992 to 1997)

He co-curated the 2006 Whitney Biennial with Chrissie Iles, organized Kara Walker's first full-scale American survey at the Walker, and curated a Carl Andre retrospective that opened at Dia:Beacon in 2014 and toured internationally.

What the evening covers

The talk is part of The Bass Dialogues series. Associate curator Jasa McKenzie moderates and opens with a look at the exhibitions now on view. Vergne then talks through his approach and his plans for the museum: upcoming exhibitions, new artist commissions and international partnerships.

A bigger campus on the way

Vergne's arrival lines up with the museum's planned expansion. The museum picked the Los Angeles firm Johnston Marklee in April to design an expansion on about 22,000 square feet southwest of the current building, with completion planned for 2027. The plan calls for an elevated gallery pavilion for the growing permanent collection and for experimental media, plus an outdoor patio with a screening space for films, projections, poetry readings and small performances at night. A canopy will link the pavilion and patio, outdoor sculpture will run through the grounds, and the design keeps Russell Pancoast's 1942 Art Deco building intact.

The project is backed by $20.1 million from Miami Beach's 2022 General Obligation Bond, which voters approved with about 65 percent support and which funds 16 cultural facilities across the city.

If you go

When: Thursday, Nov. 19, 6 to 9 p.m.
Where: The Bass, 2100 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
Cost: Free with RSVP at thebass.org
Questions: 305-673-7530

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