Donatella Restaurant Brings an Arts-Forward Italian Point of View to Miami Art Week
- rcastro05
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Tucked inside the chic Donatella Boutique Hotel, Donatella Restaurant has always treated dining as an art form, and for this year's Miami Art Week, Donatella expands its canvas. Across two days of programming, the restaurant transforms into an intimate cultural hub, part gallery, part performance space, fully rooted in the Italian instinct to celebrate la dolce vida.
Thursday, December 4: Opening Day with Carolina Martínez Pedemonte
The week opens with Buenos Aires–born artist Carolina Martínez Pedemonte and her new collection, “Mood Stabilizers.” Martínez Pedemonte works almost exclusively in oil on canvas, pulling directly from lived experience. Her paintings read like fragments of a private diary that, once shared, tend to resonate far beyond their origins.
Her exhibition opens at 2 p.m., with works available for purchase through December 5. That evening at 7:30 p.m., she will create a new artwork live, accompanied by a violinist and DJ. Once completed, the piece enters a digital charity auction benefiting Chicas Guapas, a nonprofit organization supporting emerging artists. The work remains on view at Donatella until December 20, when the auction winner is announced.
December 6: Fabio Ingrassia Brings Italian Pop Culture to South Beach
The programming continues on December 6 with Italian contemporary artist Fabio Ingrassia. Beginning at 3 p.m., he will exhibit a Pop Art collection celebrating cultural figures that bridge Italian and American identity—Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro. The works are available for purchase throughout the day.
At 7:30 p.m., Ingrassia shifts outdoors to Donatella’s garden for a live performance. His style is rhythmic and improvisational, and the evening pairs his process with Mediterranean dishes, a live violinist and a DJ set. Guests will immerse themselves in an atmosphere that feels part studio visit, part dinner service, creating an environment where the art-making is impossible to ignore.
To tie the programming together, Donatella is introducing a limited-time cocktail, La Dolce Arte. It’s a straightforward blend of lime, peach schnapps and Jose Cuervo Tradicional tequila, topped with an arts-inspired topper created specifically for the occasion.
While many Miami restaurants host satellite events during Art Week, Donatella treats the week as an extension of its identity rather than a detour. The restaurant’s polished Italian hospitality, its attention to detail and its built-in sense of occasion all make it a fitting environment for artists whose work thrives on audience engagement. It’s a reminder that during Miami Art Week, creativity doesn’t stay confined to convention centers or white-walled spaces, but moves into the places where people gather, eat and talk.