Miami Art Week: Installation featuring 300 drones to debut in Miami Beach

Among the most unique events during Miami Art Week will be soaring by the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach when an autonomous swarm of illuminated drones will imitate a flock of birds above the ocean.

The 300 drones are part of a flying sculpture by Studio Drift in partnership with BMW Group and will take off on Wednesday at 9 p.m. between 32nd and 33rd Street off Collins Avenue (behind the Faena Hotel).

The installation utilizes “decentralized algorithms” and was “inspired by the spectacle of starlings clustering together in massive flocks and exposing the tension between individual freedom and safety in numbers,” per the press release. Studio Freedom studied the natural flight pattern of starlings before embedding the software into its flock of drones, powered by Intel drone technology.

“We were impressed by the courage of BMW to get involved here, as an artwork of this scope and scale has never even been tested before,” said Lonneke Gordijn, co-founder of Studio Drift, Amsterdam. “They believed in our idea because they fully comprehend how complicated and intricate those innovative processes are.”

The spectacle will also feature additional performances throughout the week, weather permitting. The times will be shared on Studio Drift’s Instagram.

For an extensive map of Miami Art Week fairs, click here.