Noah Horowitz, Art Basel’s director of the Americas and the overseer of its Miami Beach iteration, is unexpectedly departing the organization at the end of August, having tendered his resignation July 2, according to Artnet News, which broke the story. Art Basel confirmed the departure in a statement, noting that Horowitz, who has held his post for six years, was leaving “to pursue other opportunities.”

Under Horowitz’s leadership, Art Basel Miami Beach grew steadily despite an increasingly saturated market, from 77,000 visitors in 2015 to 81,000 visitors in 2019. Horowitz, who earlier in the millennium served as the first director of the short-lived online art fair VIP, was thus prepared at the arrival last year of the Covid-19 crisis to oversee the launch of the fair’s online viewing rooms.

Marc Spiegler, Art Basel’s global director, in a statement acknowledged Horowitz’s “many achievements, [which] include the ever-growing renown of Art Basel in Miami Beach, the establishment of our presence in New York, the launch of the Art Market report, and most recently the spearheading of our digital efforts.” 

Though Horowitz’s departure predates this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach opening by four months, a search is underway for his replacement, with organizers assuring, “We will work closely with Noah to ensure a smooth transition and handover of responsibilities, in particular around the staging of Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2021.”

Having canceled the 2020 edition of that event, the fair’s organizers are eager to get its 2021 iteration off the ground. To that end, they announced that the event will open a day earlier than originally planned, thanks to the addition of a second VIP preview day. The fair will be open to VIPs November 30–December 1, and will welcome the general public December 2–4. Its Meridians section, which hosts large-scale installations, will open November 29.