BMW Returns to Art Basel in Miami Beach as Official Partner.

• The all-new BMW Concept XM celebrated its world premire on Monday, November 29 at an exclusive event featuring a performance by GRAMMY-award winning hip-hop artist NAS.

• The BMW Concept XM will be displayed at the Miami Beach Convention Center from December 1 – 4. 
• BMW Group celebrates 50 years of cultural engagement in 2021.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – Novem ber 30, 2021… BMW returns as an official partner of Art Basel in Miami Beach for 2021 as the fair resumes in-person activities. In the latest chapter of the partnership, BMW held the official world premiere the BMW Concept XM – an all-new high-powered, hybrid-electric concept vehicle – during a special performance by GRAMMY-award winning hip-hop and recording artist Nas on Monday, November 29 at Herzog & de Meuron’s famous 1111 Lincoln Road parking deck in Miami Beach.

In addition to the vehicle unveiling and performance by NAS, the event also featured a sculpture by Brooklyn, New York-based artist and sculptor Kennedy Yanko, specially created for the event.  The activation concluded a milestone anniversary of cultural engagement at BMW Group, which has now been a cornerstone of the group’s corporate citizenship for 50 years.

“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. Art Basel is one of the most renowned art fairs 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 Kennedy Yanko and NAS in this activation, underscoring BMW Group’s five-decade long commitment to supporting culture and the arts in meaningful ways.”
Following the event, the BMW Concept XM was moved to the Miami Beach convention center where it will be on display at the at the north side of the Grand Ballroom on Level 2 from December 1-4, 2021.

The BMW Concept XM will not only be the most powerful BMW M vehicle to ever go into series production, it will also be the first electrified production vehicle from BMW M.  The bold exterior styling features powerful and heavily contoured proportions which reflect the vehicle’s exceptional performance, while the interior presents a progressive and distinctive form of luxury and sense of space.  Inside the car, a special take on the driver-focused cockpit for which M models are renowned is coupled with an all-new rear cabin design with high-comfort seats and an illuminated, sculpted headliner, offering passengers a luxurious retreat.

Using the BMW Concept XM as inspiration, Kennedy Yanko 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 knowledge. 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, 2021.

BMW is a long-term global partner of Art Basel, supporting the world-famous insititution’s fairs in Basel, Switzerland; Hong Kong; and Miami Beach, Florida. In addition to their event partnership, Art Basel and BMW founded the BMW Art Journey in 2015 - an initiative to support emerging to mid-career artists. The BMW Art Journey is a collaboration between BMW and Art Basel to support emerging artists in their early stages.

The BMW Art Journey can take an artist almost anywhere in the world – to research, to network, to envision and create new work.  After the journey through Europe and Mexico of BMW Art Journey winner from 2020, Leelee Chan, BMW present 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.

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BMW Group in America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 351 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 144 BMW motorcycle retailers, 110 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

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Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com, www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.