For Basel, Le Baron Goes Mobile

Next week marks the kick-off of the Miami leg of Art Basel. For those of us who are flocking southward, the allure of Basel in Miami lies in its fusion of art and nightlife set in balmy temperatures, always uncannily timed to New York’s first deep freeze.

Amidst the countless events, dinners, and parties put on over Basel, graffiti artist-cum-nightlife impresario André Saraiva has been at the forefront, satiating revelers with a pop-up iteration of his impossibly in-demand Parisian-born hotspot, Le Baron, since 2005. After five years of holding court at South Beach’s Delano Hotel, Le Baron is on the move. From Dec. 4-9, Le Baron will travel to a new venue each night, with the location kept hush-hush until 6 p.m. “Art Basel Miami is a moment to reunite the artists and people I love in a new city at the same time,” Saraiva explained. “We wanted to avoid being mainstream. Le Baron is not about being comfortable and easy—we like to find new things and new challenges.”

The information will be released each night, digitally, via the Le Baron website, Twitter, and Facebook, in addition to the venue’s new “Where Is Le Baron?” iPhone app (downloadable at www.whereislebaron.com). “Before, I would do a flyer to announce an event and hand them out on the street,” Saraiva recalled. “Now you have to use an app. It is the new version of a flyer and a way to stay contemporary.”

Staying contemporary seems to be ingrained in Le Baron’s DNA, and this year’s Basel pop-up promises to inject their party sensibility with a dose of wholesome treasure hunt fun. When pressed for details of Le Baron’s nightly mix-up, Saraiva stayed vague. “Different music and a different version of Le Baron!” Looks like we’ll just have to wait and see.