During Miami Art Week, visitors to Miami Beach will experience a unique literary adventure thanks to renowned British artist Es Devlin. The nonprofit organization Faena Art has commissioned "Library of Us," an extraordinary 50-foot-wide triangular bookshelf that rotates and houses 2,500 carefully selected books that have shaped Devlin's artistic work, personal philosophy, and life experiences.
The impressive sculptural installation will be positioned within a reflective pool and encircled by a 70-foot-long communal reading table designed to foster unexpected connections between visitors. The innovative seating arrangement features stools on one side that rotate along with the massive bookshelf, while those on the outer edge remain stationary, creating opportunities for chance encounters and conversations among readers from different perspectives.
Devlin explained her vision for the installation in an official statement: "This installation seeks to express the vitality of the library through a series of encounters between viewers revolving to meet one another through language around a circular collective reading table." Each day, the reading table will feature books from the artist's personal collection, complete with her handwritten underlinings, annotations, and other marginalia that provide intimate insights into her thought processes.
The installation incorporates advanced technology through a 30-foot-wide scrolling LED screen that displays selected passages from 250 different books. Visitors will also hear audio recordings of Devlin herself reading these passages, adding a personal dimension to the literary experience. This ambitious "Library of Us" serves as the centerpiece of a comprehensive survey of Devlin's work throughout the Faena Art campus.
The nearby Faena Project Room will simultaneously host an exhibition of Devlin's works on paper and paintings on glass, while the Faena Cathedral presents another new commission titled "Reading Room." This multi-venue presentation offers visitors a complete immersion into the artist's creative universe during one of the art world's most significant annual gatherings.
"Library of Us" will operate alongside Art Basel Miami Beach and numerous other Miami Art Week events, welcoming book enthusiasts daily from 1 PM to 9 PM between December 2 and December 7. Following the conclusion of the installation, all 2,500 books will be donated to South Florida institutions and organizations, including local schools and public libraries, extending the project's impact beyond the art world.
Devlin's decision to create a free outdoor reading space carries particular significance given Florida's current political climate regarding literature access. According to data compiled by the Florida Freedom to Read Project and analyzed by PEN America, a free-speech nonprofit organization, Florida has emerged as arguably the most censorious state in the United States when it comes to literature. During the previous academic year, 33 school districts across the state pursued a staggering total of 2,304 book bans, surpassing all other states.
Among the books removed from South Florida school libraries are notable titles including Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle," Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants," and Gregory Maguire's "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," the novel that inspired both the hit Broadway musical and the blockbuster film "Wicked." These titles join Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange," which holds the unfortunate distinction of being the most-banned book in America.
This censorship trend has been amplified by the state's influential parental rights movement, which has received strong support from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and aligns with many of his policy initiatives as part of his widely publicized "war on woke." The movement has significantly impacted educational institutions and cultural organizations throughout the state.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Faena Art commissioning artist projects for Miami Art Week. Faena Art manages the cultural initiatives of the Faena Group development company, which operates luxury hotels and residences in Buenos Aires, New York, Miami Beach, Miami River, and Tulum, Mexico. The organization has established itself as a significant patron of contemporary art and cultural programming.
Last year's marquee Faena Art commission featured a large-scale installation by Nicholas Galanin that depicted a colonial-era Spanish galleon emerging dramatically from the beach sand. Previous notable commissions have included an Alfredo Jaar artwork displayed on a floating digital billboard that traveled up and down the beach in 2018, two monumental Buddha sculptures created from ash by Zhang Huan in 2019, and a sculptural installation of colorful, elevated boardwalks by Paula de Solminihac in 2022.
Alan Faena, the collector and hotelier who founded Faena Art, expressed his enthusiasm for this year's project in an official statement: "Miami Art Week has always been a moment to ignite imagination and connect our community through culture. This year, with Es Devlin's transformative installations, we are taking that vision to new heights, turning the iconic spaces of Faena Miami Beach into immersive experiences that invite reflection, dialogue, and connection."
