Art Basel names a director for the Americas

The global Art Basel organization, which operates annual art fairs in Miami Beach, Switzerland and Hong Kong, announced Tuesday that it has created a new position overseeing the Americas.

Noah Horowitz, who has been executive director of the Armory Show in New York for the past four years, will be Director Americas for Art Basel starting in August.

He will direct Art Basel Miami Beach, which will hold its 14th edition in December, and work to strengthen relationships with artists, collectors, galleries, museums and institutions throughout North and South America.

Marc Spiegler, Art Basel director, said the organization’s leaders had been discussing the value of having a director who could concentrate solely on the art world in North America and Latin American countries.

“There’s just no substitute for the day-to-day engagement,” he said.

Horowitz, 35, who lives in New York, was director of the online VIP Art Fair before moving to the Armory Show in 2011. He has a Ph.D. in art history and wrote the book Art of the Deal: Contemporary Art in a Global Financial Market.

After moving back to the United States following his studies in London from 2002 to 2009, Horowitz said he attended Art Basel Miami Beach every year.

“I feel quite comfortable, and I’m also excited to learn more and to roll up my sleeves and get started,” he said.

Horowitz called the opportunity to direct the fair and cultivate relationships throughout North and South America “incredibly exciting.”

More than 73,000 people attended Art Basel Miami Beach last year, with more than 160 museum and institutional groups represented.

“I think there’s a lot that can be done to help take the fair in Miami to the next level,” Horowitz said.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Art Basel names a director for the Americas."