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Among culture insiders, Art Basel Miami Beach (December 2-7, 2008) is known as the younger, sexier sister to Art Basel, the venerable fair that has drawn the art cognoscenti to Switzerland for almost four decades. But the stateside version, now in its seventh year in Miami, is by no means less of an extravaganza—or easier to navigate, especially for first-time visitors. There are 240 galleries presented, seventeen satellites setting up around the city and important shows at all the major museums (this year’s most anticipated exhibits include Belgian filmmaker Chantal Ackerman at the Miami Art Museum and Albanian artist Anri Sala at the Museum of Contemporary Art).

Prioritizing when to see what and where is key to having an enjoyable art-filled week in Miami Beach, confirms Muriel Quancard-Johnson, the energetic founder of Opus, a travel company focused on contemporary art, design and architecture, who is taking a small group to the fair this year. “Attending Art Basel Miami Beach offers visitors an adventure unlike any other and provides an incredible opportunity to make contacts within the art world,” says the French-born, New York-based Quancard-Johnson. During the exclusive six-day trip, travelers will have a chance to explore the fair led by art experts, as well as have access to special events like the opening night reception. They will also be able to visit various private collections and galleries, and enjoy dinner and cocktails with artists and curators. The Opus group will be based at the recently remodeled Angler’s Boutique Resort, in the heart of Miami’s Art Deco district. The trip is limited to ten people. $5,500 (single occupancy) or $7,500 (double occupancy), including accommodation, lunch and dinner, transportation in Miami, guest curators and artist’s fees as well as all entrance fees to cultural activities.

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This Fall, when visiting the following U.S. cities, be sure to catch these exceptional exhibitions.

BOSTON

Contemporary American artist Tara Donovan, who masterfully transforms everyday disposable materials into stunning large-scale installations and sculptures, will be the subject of a major retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art. The show will feature seventeen of Donovan’s works from the last decade, as well as a new site-specific installation commissioned by the museum. Opens October 10 and runs through January 4, 2009.

Coming soon: an in-depth destination report on Boston.

CHICAGO

Photography is on view at the Art Institute of Chicago: Henri Cartier-Bresson’s powerful images are juxtaposed with drawings and etchings of some of his contemporaries, including de Chirico, Matisse, Mondrian and Picasso.

Very different but equally compelling will be the Jenny Holzer exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art (www.mcachicago.org), where the American conceptual artist’s show Protect Protect opens on October 25. Working with text and installation, Holzer has developed a unique way of examining emotional and social realities. Selected excerpts of her work will be projected onto the museum’s façade at night (starting October 29). Through February 1.

DALLAS

It’s rare that an exhibition makes an encore city tour, but Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs was such a hit when it was shown in 2005 that this month it return to the Dallas Museum of Art (dallasmuseumofart.org) for a seven-month engagement. More than 130 extraordinary artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun and other ancient Egyptian sites will be on view. Opens October 3.

DENVER

Opening on October 4 at the Denver Art Museum (www.denverartmuseum.org) : a major retrospective of acclaimed contemporary artist Daniel Richter. Born in 1962 and based in Berlin (in the U.S., he’s represented by David Zwirner), Richter is known for colorful, fantastical paintings, which loosely reference pop culture, politics, music, movies, comics and history. Through January 11, 2009.

LOS ANGELES

If you missed the major Louise Bourgeois show in Paris and New York, it arrives at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles on October 26. The full-career retrospective is the most comprehensive to date of the fascinating sculptor and artist and features, among other works, her fascinating Cells, large-scale, enclosed installations that are extremely personal—and powerful. Through January 25.

MIAMI

Art world darling Chantal Ackerman, a Belgian filmmaker and artist who is based in Paris, will have her first solo show in the U.S. at the Miami Art Museum. The show is part of the very cool MAC@MAM program, a collaboration between the museum and the cutting-edge Miami Art Central. It opens on October 10 and runs through January 18, 2009.

Posting Soon: Insider tips on how to plan a trip to Art Basel Miami Beach, running this year form December 4-7.

MINNEAPOLIS

The Walker Art Center (www.walkerart.org) will showcase the first solo U.S. museum exhibition of whimsical Japanese artist Tetsumi Kudo (1935-1990). It will include some seventy pieces of his oeuvre, made in a variety of mediums (objects, sculpture, installation, drawing and painting) and scales. Kudo floated between and experimented with a large range of styles, including French Nouveau Realisme, Pop Art, and 1980s Japanese postmodernism, among others, without ever settling into one in particular.

NEW YORK

The Asia Society is showing the controversial Art and China’s Revolution, the first-ever exhibition to focus on the revolutionary spirit of Mao’s China from the 1950s through 1970s.

Francophiles, meanwhile, shouldn’t miss three special exhibits this season: Uptown, the Museum of the City of New York hosts Paris/New York: Design Fashion Culture 1925-1940. The Whitney dedicates serious gallery space to beloved sculptor Alexander Calder in a show entitled The Paris Years, 1926-1933, and the Museum of Modern Art features Joan Miro: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927-1937. Also at MoMA: Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night, a show that amasses more than two dozen of Van Gogh’s nocturnal and twilight paintings and drawings

Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton , the first survey of artist Elizabeth Peyton’s work in an American institution, will be on view at the New Museum

Read about ArtMuse, which focuses on unique art tours with kids.

Read about the recently opened Museum of Art & Design

SAN FRANCISCO

The Asian Art Museum hosts an extraordinary exhibition of ancient artifacts, believed to have been stolen or destroyed, that were rediscovered in modern-day Afghanistan. Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul look at the rich cultural heritage of ancient Afghanistan and features more than 200 works, including gold objects from the famed Bactrian Hoard, bronze and stone sculptures, ivories, painted glassware and other ancient Afghan works of art.

WASHINGTON, DC

Dutch Old Master Jan Lievens is the focus of a show at the National Gallery (www.nga.gov). The 17th-century artist, a friend and rival of Rembrandt, was a brilliant painter, printmaker, and draftsman and the exhibit will feature 55 paintings, 30 prints and 50 drawings by Lievens. The exhibit will travel to Milwaukee and to Amsterdam after it closes at the National Gallery on January 11, 2009.

Lovers of photography, meanwhile, should head to the Corcoran Gallery (www.corcoran.org), where Richard Avedon’s Portraits of Power is on view. The show juxtaposes more than 200 images of government, media and business officials with photographs of artists, activists and ordinary citizens. Through January 25.

Coming soon: an in-depth destination report on Washington, D.C.

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When the ICA moved from its former fire station digs to its gleaming new home on the waterfront, both the local and international arts community took notice. The Diller, Scofidio + Renfro-designed building, which cantilevers over the channel, offers 65,000 square feet of gallery, performance and classroom space plus a large museum shop and Wolfgang Puck café overlooking the harbor. The glass and steel structure – a major departure from Boston’s traditional architecture and a sight in its own right – houses a permanent collection from names such as Nan Goldin and Thomas Hirschhorn as well as fascinating exhibitions of artists across all mediums.

Coming this month: a full report on where to stay, dine, spa and shop in Boston.