Swizz Beatz launches Art Basel festival

Enterprising hitmaker and art lover Swizz Beatz has launched a three-day art and music series at Art Basel Miami Beach in Florida, featuring his wife Alicia Keys.

Beatz has teamed up with Bacardi bosses for the December (15) festival, which will also feature performances from Pusha T, DMX and Wiz Khalifa.

Casa Bacardi at Wynwood will be curated by the producer and it will also feature a No Commission Art Fair, where artists will showcase their work for free and take home 100 per cent of proceeds.

"It's by the artist, for the artist, with the people," Swizz tells Billboard. "I think a lot of people forgot the message of why they're even going down to Basel. You're going down to Basel because there are amazing, creative artists who took a lot of time out of their lives to put together some masterpieces and hope for entry in a great collection or for somebody to be inspired.

"Not taking anything away from Basel or from the galleries, I just chose to do something different. And I think the world needs more powerful collaborations that are willing to push the envelope and not really follow the necessary rules that are laid out."