As CEO of Design Miami/, Jen Roberts keeps her eye on trends that turn any space into a museum

Jen Roberts is a jolt of high-octane creative energy. You kind of have to be when you’re the CEO of Design Miami/, Art Basel Miami Beach is only weeks away and your work day kicked off with international calls from at least three different time zones.

“It’s all the sex, drugs and design,” Roberts jokes in a cool, breezy tone over all the pre-Basel vortex swirling inside her chic Miami DesignDistrict office.

That slight scent of rock ‘n’ roll in the air? You’re not imagining it. Jen’s father was John P. Roberts, one of the founding fathers of Woodstock, and today, JenRoberts is an active co-proprietor of both Woodstock Music and Art Festivals.

“I grew up in Manhattan and my parents were quite chic in the ’70sand ’80s,” she declares. “Despite repeatedly being told not to play on the furniture, we would devise some creative games and imaginary worlds...”The “furniture” in question included a Vladimir Kagan Omnibus sofa and a pair of Joe Colombo Elda chairs. This will not be the last time beautiful design spawned fully fledged creative worlds inside her mind.

Opening page: Logo print cape and boots by Louis Vuitton. Available at Louis Vuitton, MiamiDesign District. This page: Dress and coat by Marni. Available at Marni, Miami DesignDistrict. Earrings by Sevan Bicakci. Available at Sevan Bicakci, Miami Design District. Rings by Flowen. Available at fl-o-wen.com.

DESIGN ON A MISSION

Over the years, the Design Miami/ forum and its fairs have gathered together the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators and critics from around the world so that design has become the new transformative and defining feature of Miami’s global appeal. That has been the vision and mission of Design Miami/ founder Craig Robins and his successor now at the helm, Roberts.

This year, the mission reads loud and clear. The 15th edition of DesignMiami/ will host a fresh crop of showstoppers under its new tent located inMiami Beach’s new 6-acre public park, Pride Park. This tent is hallowed ground for collectible design. A place for the playful and the dream-like; where irony becomes a tactile surface you can sit on and nostalgia redeems the soul through the intersecting narratives of metal, enamel and resin. Here pattern can be infallible, color revolutionary and elegance is always in the shape. This is where design will skillfully infiltrate and subvert your life, all while making you feel right at home. This will also be the place where many of this art season’s jaw-dropping sales will happen, as many inspired pieces find homes locally and abroad.

Galerie Kreo is back for 2019, this time to present the new Efflorescence series by Virgil Abloh. Delta Air Lines and The Sacred Space team up forROOTS by Atelier Marko Brajovic, a stunning pavilion made of a branching system that mimics the natural growth of mangrove roots. Even Instagram is getting in on the act and collaborating with Studio Swine to create a special gallery. The popular Curio program also returns in 2019 with its crowd-pleasing immersive installations that focus on a specific curated theme. This year, the conversation centers around a preoccupation on everyone’s mind: Water.

“We’ve seen the shift toward meaningful design and how it can address pressing issues such as climate change,” says Jen, who also works closely with the City of Miami Beach devising design solutions to address the urgent problem of rising seas. “This ties in with our curatorial themes ...There is growth in the art and design market, but also in innovative and incredible architecture. I can’t wait to see Bjarke Ingels’ Miami ProduceCenter in Allapattah, and of course there is Zaha Hadid Architects’ OneThousand Museum.”

LIFE LESSONS LEARNED

Music, stewardship and design: formidable forces and sources of inspiration Roberts draws from daily. “I try to apply what I learned from Woodstock and the ideals of that generation, but it also comes from a more personal place — the general perspective of my father, who left my brother and I a letter upon demise’ that talked about history, community, and fame separately. He wanted us to be involved members of our communities.”

For Roberts, design is definitely an international affair.

“I plan to expand Design Miami/ globally, educating people about how design is collectible and can solve everyday problems.”

This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 12:00 PM.