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The Bass Highlights Winter 2026 Programs and Exhibitions in Miami Beach


The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach has announced a robust lineup of winter 2026 programs and exhibitions, including artist talks on artificial intelligence, community workshops, teen initiatives, family-focused art activities, and major contemporary art presentations, alongside a featured partnership highlight with Miami City Ballet.




Key Winter Events


The Bass continues its Third Thursdays series with a special edition, The Bass Dialogues with Lawrence Lek, scheduled for Thursday, February 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the talk beginning at 6:30 p.m. and running approximately 45 minutes to one hour.


Artist Lawrence Lek will be joined in conversation by Claudia Mattos, Associate Curator at the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University in Houston and former Associate Curator of New Media at The Bass. The discussion will address the ethical and cultural implications of artificial intelligence as both subject and storyteller, examining issues of narrative, simulation, and the changing boundaries between humans and machines.



The program is framed around the exhibition Lawrence Lek: NOX Pavilion, a newly commissioned multimedia installation that explores artificial intelligence and the emotional dimensions of technology. Third Thursday is presented as part of Art Bridges’ Access for All initiative.



Curator Meet And Greet


On Saturday, February 21, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., The Bass hosts Breakfast at The Bass: Meet Jasa McKenzie, a morning program featuring coffee, conversation, and an introduction to the museum’s new Associate Curator, Jasa McKenzie.


Executive Director Silvia Karman Cubiñá will introduce McKenzie, whose curatorial practice engages questions of identity, human connection, and expansive modes of imagination. Before joining The Bass, McKenzie led creative programming for The Great Northern, a multidisciplinary festival in Minneapolis focused on climate change solutions, and contributed to curatorial teams for the Hawaiʻi Triennial in Honolulu (2025), documenta fifteen in Kassel (2022), Desert X in Coachella Valley (2019 and 2021), and the 10th Berlin Biennale (2018). She was a Curator-in-Residence with the Curatorial Program for Research’s “(RE)PRESENTATION IN THE NORDICS” in 2023.


McKenzie holds a master’s degree in Curatorial Practice from the School of Visual Arts in New York and a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Event information is available online.


Adult Workshop Series


Also on Saturday, February 21, from 1 to 3 p.m., The Bass presents Workshops @ The Bass: Collaboration Reframed – Exploring Photo & Material Play with Eva Llarena, a hands-on session for adults ages 21 and older.


The workshop draws inspiration from the maximalist, collaborative environment of assume vivid astro focus’s installation XI. Participants will begin with a guided tour of the installation, considering how the artists use color, pattern, and collaboration to transform the gallery into an immersive, sensory setting.


Following the tour, attendees will participate in a Polaroid photoshoot within the exhibition and create a one-of-a-kind framed Polaroid to take home. All materials are provided, and the class fee is $15 for museum members and $20 for nonmembers.



Teen Art Opportunities


The Bass Teen Board is accepting final submissions for the Teen Art Exhibition, with a submission deadline of Sunday, February 8, 2026. The exhibition will open on Thursday, March 19, 2026, with a celebration scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2026.


Open to teen artists across the greater Miami region, the exhibition provides an opportunity to showcase work at The Bass, Miami Beach’s contemporary art museum. The 2026 theme is “Time”, inviting submissions that consider time as personal memory, physical process, shared experience, or abstract concept.


Through this exhibition, The Bass aims to highlight how young artists capture moments, transitions, and the evolving nature of time in South Florida and beyond. Teen artists can submit work via the museum’s website.


Teen Studio Program


For middle and high school students seeking dedicated creative time, The Bass offers Teen Studio Art Sessions. The closed-series studio program runs on Wednesdays from February 11 through March 18, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and is open to ages 13 to 18.


Developed in partnership with the Police Athletic League of Miami Beach, the program offers a welcoming environment where teens can make art, experiment with materials, and connect with peers. Each session features open-ended projects, quality supplies, and light guidance from a professional facilitator, supporting both collaborative work and quiet self-expression.



Eco Art For Families


The family-friendly program Art Cares | Eco Art Therapy Terrariums takes place at The Bass Creativity Center on Saturday, February 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. The session invites families to explore connections through art and experience the therapeutic benefits of creative practice.


Participants will work with new art materials while engaging with the Social Assembly exhibition, including references to Yang’s “In the Cone of Uncertainty Wallpaper.” Using eco art therapy, families will create terrariums that reflect on the climate crisis and environmental awareness.


The event is free with required preregistration, and space is limited to 15 seats per session. Families are encouraged to register early to reserve a spot; all children must be accompanied by an adult.


Family Day Soundscapes


On Sunday, February 22, from 2 to 4 p.m., The Bass hosts Family Day featuring Soundscapes, an immersive, multisensory experience designed to reimagine the traditional choral concert.


Presented by Miami Children’s Chorus under the direction of conductors Liana Salinas, Ananya Akula, and Supitcha Kansirisin, the Allegro and Sonata ensembles will perform a varied program of choral music among The Bass’s art installations.


Miami Children’s Chorus, South Florida’s first community children’s choir, marks 60 years of choral music education and performance, with a history that includes community events, commissioning new works, recording, touring, and collaborations with Grammy-winning artists such as Gloria Estefan, Manuel Turizo, and Barry Manilow.


The program receives support from Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All initiative, the Al & Jane Nahmad Family Foundation, and PNC Arts Alive. Families can learn more and add the event to their calendars online.


Early Childhood Programs


The museum’s youngest visitors can take part in Bass Babies, a weekly art program running January 22 through April 30 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. for children ages 2 to 4 and their caregivers.


Sessions focus on sensory awareness, creativity, and pre-literacy skills through hands-on art activities. Children learn about colors, shapes, patterns, numbers, and letters while practicing free expression, problem-solving, and decision-making.


Led by teaching artist Paloma Dueñas, the multidisciplinary and sensory-based curriculum introduces basic concepts of art and artists through the combined exploration of visual art and music.


Registration is $20 per class for museum members at the Family/Dual level and above and $25 per class for nonmembers. Four-class bundles are available at a 10 percent discount when purchased by phone or in person. Families can register online and contact the museum with questions.


Spring Art Camps


The Bass Creativity Center will host Spring Art Camps, running March 23 to 27 for children ages 4 to 12. Daily sessions take place from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with aftercare available until 5:45 p.m.


Campers work with teaching artists to create one-of-a-kind projects in sculpture, painting, design, and more. Each day emphasizes a different creative focus, encouraging exploration, self-expression, and confidence-building through hands-on art activities.



Major Exhibitions On View


Among the museum’s current exhibitions, Jack Pierson: The Miami Years, on view through August 16, 2026, offers the first in-depth look at the transformative role Miami has played in the artist’s life and work.


The exhibition traces how South Beach’s landscape and queer nightlife provided Pierson with respite from New York City, as well as access to affordable apartments and thrift-store finds that informed his artistic exploration of wanderlust and escapism. Curated by James Voorhies, Curator at Large, the show is supported by Lisson Gallery, Regen Projects, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council, the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s New Media Initiative.



The site-specific installation Shayla Marshall: Blue Magick brings together personal experience, history, and collective memory to explore how cultural identity is formed in everyday spaces.


Interdisciplinary artist Shayla Marshall draws on her interest in “third spaces,” or sites of gathering and belonging that fall outside home and work. Within the installation, settings such as haircare aisles and living rooms merge into a shared environment of communal care.


Blue Magick is part of The Walgreens Windows Project, located at 23rd Street and Collins Avenue in the Walgreens storefront. The initiative is a collaboration between The Bass and Bakehouse Art Complex, presenting rotating, site-specific projects by emerging and local artists in support of work that engages, challenges, and educates, with support from Walgreens.



The exhibition Faire Foyer: Sarah Crowner in Dialogue with Etel Adnan, on view through July 26, 2026, brings together new work by artist Sarah Crowner and a monumental ceramic mural by Etel Adnan, the only example of its kind in the United States.


Crowner, whose practice spans painting, sculpture, and design through geometric abstraction, has created a semicircular carpeted alcove, or “faire foyer,” that serves as a transitional space between exterior and interior while framing Adnan’s mural. Organized by Curator at Large James Voorhies, the exhibition is supported by the Arison Arts Foundation and Phillips.




Miami City Ballet Collaboration Highlight


The Bass also highlights a nearby performing arts offering as Miami City Ballet presents Into the Magic City from February 20 to March 1. The program brings together movement, music, and Miami’s distinctive energy in a performance that blends classical and contemporary influences.


The evening features George Balanchine’s Serenade and Tarantella, alongside a world premiere by choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. Titled Roses from the South, Three Waltzes for Toby, the new work honors Miami City Ballet founder Toby Lerner Ansin and celebrates legacy, artistry, and Miami’s cultural vibrancy.


Miami City Ballet is offering $40 seats with the promotional code CELEBRATE40. Ticket information and performance details are available through the company’s website, where audiences can purchase tickets to the winter program.


By ML. Photo(s)/The Bass Museum of Art

 
 
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