BMW returns to Art Basel in Miami Beach as official automotive partner. Launching the new BMW Concept XM, BMW features artist Kennedy Yanko and Grammy-award winner NAS.

Munich/Miami Beach. BMW is again official partner of
Art Basel in Miami Beach in 2021. In the latest chapter of the
partnership, BMW held the official world premiere of an all-new
concept vehicle, the BMW Concept XM, on Monday, November 29 in Miami
Beach. As longstanding global partner of the shows in Basel, Miami
Beach and Hong Kong, BMW once again offers its VIP shuttle service and
celebrates 50 years of BMW Group Cultural Engagement with the
presentation of the new BMW XM concept car together with the artist
Kennedy Yanko and hip-hop legend NAS.         

The BMW Concept XM, an all-new standalone concept vehicle by BMW M,
was debuted at a special event on Monday, November 29 at Herzog
de Meuron’s famous 1111 Lincoln Road parking deck in Miami Beach,
Florida. The vehicle embodies a radically new concept: a
zero-compromise BMW M with striking BMW X design language including
the new, progressive front-end design of BMW’s forthcoming
luxury-class models which can be seen on the BMW Concept XM for the
first time.

The world premiere treated guests to the concept vehicle debut, a
sculpture of art specially created by Kennedy Yanko for the event, and
a special musical performance by GRAMMY-award winning hip-hop and
recording artist NAS. Creative freedom and partnership at eye level
are essential for BMW Group’s cultural engagement.

“This moment of co-creation between visual art and music by Kennedy
Yanko and NAS brings together two cultural fields that have inspired
each other for many decades and are two main areas of BMW brand
cooperations,” said Stefan Ponikva, Head of BMW Brand Communication
and Experience. “It all started with a dialogue with our designers
around the BMW Concept XM and this exchange on eye-level is what makes
our collaborations authentic. And Art Basel as the most renowned art
fair with plenty creative and expressive minds across the disciplines,
offers us the perfect platform to present our latest cultural engagement.“

“Art Basel in Miami Beach is the perfect moment to launch the BMW
Concept XM, a product unlike anything we’ve ever produced,” said Uwe
Dreher, vice president of marketing, BMW of North America. “This
unique concept vehicle is matched perfectly to the expressive artwork
from our partner artists, underscoring BMW Group’s five-decade long
commitment to supporting culture and the arts in meaningful ways.”

Kennedy Yanko is a Brooklyn, New York-based artist and sculptor.
Using the BMW Concept XM as inspiration, she created an original
sculpture work utilized in the activation. The piece was inspired by a
creative dialogue with NAS starting point of which was the encounter
of the artists with the BMW Concept XM. “Intrinsic Sage”, as the
artwork is called, joins paint skin and metal in a surge of intuition.
Created with the artist’s spirit in mind, this piece emphasizes the
power that comes from following one’s creative impulse towards
innovation. Its namesake nods towards the sanctity of a deep
consciousness that can only come from trusting one’s innate knowing.
“Intrinsic Sage” will be on display alongside the BMW Concept XM at
the Miami Beach convention center at the north side of the Grand
Ballroom Level 2 from December 1-4.

Besides the recent artist collaboration on the occasion of Art Basel
in Miami Beach, Art Basel and BMW founded the BMW Art Journey in 2015
– an initiative to support emerging to mid-career artists. The BMW Art
Journey can take an artist almost anywhere in the world – to research,
to network, to envision and to create new work. After the journey
through Europe and Mexico of BMW Art Journey winner 2020, Leelee Chan,
BMW presents the collectable of the sculptor summarizing her
experiences and impression from her journey “Tokens from Time.” The
book is published by Hatje Cantz and available online.

Since more than 50 years after its first edition, Art Basel has
become one of the artworld’s leading events, attracting gallerists,
artists, curators, journalists, and art lovers from all over the globe
edition after edition. BMW Group is delighted to take part in this
success story as a long-term partner of the shows in Basel, Miami
Beach and Hong Kong. The BMW Group laid the foundation of its cultural
commitment in 1971. At that time the artists Gerhard Richter was
commissioned to create three large-scale paintings for the entrance
hall of the new Munich corporate headquarters. Since then, a hundred
long-term cultural initiatives of the BMW Group in the fields of
modern and contemporary art, classical music, jazz and sound as well
as in architecture and design have been well established throughout
the decades. BMW Group was receiving manifold congratulatory
messages
to celebrate 50 years of BMW Group’s cultural engagement.

More information about the BMW Concept XM can be found at BMW USA News and
the BMW
Group PressClub
.

 

For further questions please contact:
Prof. Dr
Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental
Affairs
Global Head of Cultural Engagement BMW
Group
Telephone: +49-89-382-24753
Email: Thomas.Girst@bmwgroup.com

www.press.bmwgroup.com 
Email:
presse@bmw.de

Sarah Degen
Art Basel
Senior Media Relations
Manager
Email: press@artbasel.com