Miami’s Arts & Business Council Benefits From FAAM Auction Proceeds

As 30-year veterans in the arts community, with a solid reputation for helping arts organizations and individual artists thrive through innovative programming, the Arts & Business Council of Miami recently benefitted from some of the street art that Miami has become known for, auctioned off at the Fine Art Auction Miami (FAAM) event in Wynwood.

For the second year in a row, the Council — which also is a co-sponsor of Artburst — netted 50 percent of the proceeds from pieces sold that were created by local street artists, much of it created during the events leading up to the actual auction. Total sold that evening was $75,200.

This year there were 17 artists works’ auctioned off created by 11 different artists. The most recognizable name was Konfuzed x Kai, aka singer Chris Brown, whose three pieces went for a total of $49,500. His piece “Lies vs. Life 1,” an aerosol and acrylic on canvas, featured his likeness as its centerpiece.

Also auctioned off were two pieces by The London Police, as well as pieces by 7avage, PUCHO, HOX, Arive, ABSTRK, Luis “Style” Berros, Jose MERTZ, ATOMIK, Michael “Xeno” Langebeck, Quake, Astre 74 and Luis Arguello.

The setting inside the warehouse known as Spaceby3 in Wynwood where the event was held was edgy and urban, much like the pieces on display and those being created live during auction time. Guests strolled by as the local street artists put the finishing touches on their pieces.

Sebastien Laboureau, board co-chair of the Arts & Business Council of Miami, street art specialist with FAAM, and president of MoonStar Fine Arts Advisors, devised the profitable partnership.

“I am very involved with FAAM as the street art specialist for the auction house, so I deal with all issues related to street art,” says Laboureau. “Therefore, the partnership with FAAM seemed logical to me as FAAM wanted to also promote local artists and organize entertainment as well as educational events that would be useful to the community.”

Because Miami has become a global capital for street art, “we invited a lot of local artists to create live, generate interest with the public and audience, and in turn help the [Arts & Business Council] get promoted through the auction events and sales,” he says.

Laboureau is experienced with these types of events given MoonStar is an art consulting company. His work is to advise art collectors to buy and sell in the art market to investors and corporations that want to use art for marketing purposes. His company organizes events and works out strategies for their clients.

His strategy for the FAAM Auction worked handsomely for the Arts & Business Council of Miami, which collected $37,600 from the sale of the works sold.