Revealed: Time Out Miami’s 2021 Best of the City Award winners

Without it, we wouldn't have Broadway shows in Miami or a home for the Florida Grand Opera. Plus, where else would we watch our beloved Miami City Ballet perform year after year? Lockdown shuttered its doors but the Arsht Center returned with gusto in 2021 and for that, we're extra grateful. 

Located in Little River, this foremost contemporary art gallery champions local talent and pushes audiences to look beyond traditional mediums. Its curatorially driven collective is open to the public and a real treat to see should you find yourself in the neighborhood.

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Home to one of the country's largest personal contemporary art collections, the Rubell Museum's display only scratches the surface of its nearly 7,200 works by more than 1,000 artists. And what you see is absolutely exceptional, from works by Basquiat and Warhol to Koons and Sherman. The museum also champions local artists, regularly adding Miami-made works to its permanent collection.

This 141-seat theater brings Miami's moviegoers the finest American and international independent features in a warm, inviting environment. The Gables Art Cinema caters to the movie buff as well as lovers of classic flicks and film festival darlings with special screenings, late-night showings and even family-friendly events on the weekends. 

The Freehold offers everything you like about a hotel—think fun lobby, hip coffee counter, cool bar dotted with beautiful people—minus the rooms. Once the sun sets, find your place by the imaginary pool, order up a disco ball punch bowl filled with your favorite large-format cocktail and brace for one of the best parties in Wynwood and, if we're being honest, all of Miami. There's just no better vibe out there.

The massive 50,000-square-foot space is dedicated to the production of experiential mediums. And lest you think it's all for Instagram, the Allapattah cultural institution is backed by Pace Gallery and debuted with an inaugural program titled "Every Wall Is a Door," which features a new immersive environment by stage designer Es Devlin, a transcendent digital experience by Japanese art collective teamLab and an extrasensory light-based work by American artist James Turrell. Talk about an entrance!

If your mouth waters when you think of Korean bibimbap, cinnamon bread, pastelitos, and dumplings, this monthly market has you covered. It started as a pop-up for local food artisans to promote their business during the height of the pandemic and now has more than 75 vendors from all around South Florida selling their creations in Miami Beach six months out of the year.

The largest urban park in the state, covering around 1,000 acres, Oleta River is another of those splendid natural wonders that manage to exist in the shadows of condo canyons and metropolitan mayhem. This year, it welcomed the return of its historic waterfront restaurant, the Blue Marlin, and that irresistible fish dip we all missed so much. 

From barges cruising down the Seine to ports of call in Shanghai and Tokyo to its first interactive experience in Jungle Plaza, Louis Vuitton Men’s whimsical creation took over the Design District neighborhood this past winter with larger-than-life inflatable characters set atop LV-branded shipping containers. The fashion-forward installation provided a colorful burst of joy to kick off the year. 

Performed inside empty storefronts on Lincoln Road, the pop-up play invited the country’s most accomplished writers and playwrights to give their perspective on the seven deadly sins. In rotation over 90 minutes, small audiences watched in awe as actors played out gluttony, envy, wrath, greed, lust, pride and sloth from inside vacant storefronts while listening to the action on headphones.

It needs no introduction but it's always deserving of praise. For years, celebrity chefs (hundreds of them) and hungry people from around the U.S. have descended on Miami for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. One of the largest in the country,  it also raises funds for the Florida International University Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management school. It’s major and always so much fun.

The annual weeklong celebration of all things literature returned for its 38th edition with a bang. Each year, the program boasts seven full days of programming, including readings and a massive outdoor street fair. In previous years, notable guests have included former Vice President Joe Biden, Dan Rather, Patti Smith, Isabel Allende, Pete Souza (President Obama’s official photographer), Bill McKibben, Michael Eric Dyson, Edwidge Danticat and Kevin Young, plus numerous others.

Actors’ Playhouse reopened its Mainstage this year with an engrossing production of the hysterical one-woman show ¡FUÁCATA!. Actress Elena María García brought more than 20 Latina women characters to life in a tour de force performance we won't soon forget.

Vince Fraser offered his own perspective on Black identity as a Black creative with "Aṣẹ: Afro Frequencies," his solo exhibition at the experiential museum Artechouse. Fraser's concepts of aṣẹ and Afrocentricity exist as their own frequencies—metaphorical wavelengths that people can tap into. Through the use of technology, lights, sounds and projections, he brought these frequencies to life and gave them a new digital context for all to enjoy.

The best place to party in 2021? Everywhere! From South Beach to Wynwood to Brickell, every single corner of Miami became a destination to drink, dance and gather. Cheers to you, Miami! To more good times in 2022.

The historic North Beach Bandshell is a beachfront amphitheater that hosts local and international talent from rock bands to salsa dancing to creative orchestral performances. The venue is managed by the Rhythm Foundation who is a founding member of the City's PlasticFreeMB business certification program. The bandshell has eliminated straws, plastic cups, and has free water bottle refill stations that make it easy for concertgoers to eliminate their own plastic footprint.

In September, every year people from around the world participate in International Coastal Clean-up Day. This year VolunteerCleanup.org hosted 53 sites for Miami-Dade's International Coastal Clean-up Day. This year's event boasted the largest yet, with close to 3,000 volunteers that collected over 17,700 lbs of litter. This impressive event helps to bring awareness to the environment and engages the community to help be a part of the solution. Check out VolunteerCleanUp.org to find a local shoreline cleanup near you.

Biscayne Bay never disappoints. From clear, turquoise blue waters to the pastel-painted sunsets, the Bay is a gem that can be enjoyed by everyone. You can kayak through the mangrove-lined waterways of Oleta State Park, rent a standup paddleboard in Sunset Harbour in Miami Beach to frolic with dolphins and manatees, set sail in Coconut Grove, or boat out to the coral reefs and seagrass meadows in Biscayne National Park that are perfect for snorkeling and fishing. In recent years, fertilizer runoff, leaking septic tanks, and land-based pollution threaten the health of Biscayne Bay. We can each do our part by putting the environment first and voting for elected leadership that puts dollars to environmental action. (if this is too much, don't hesitate to remove)

Miami's foremost party photographers ramped up its coverage in 2021, giving the rest of us a peek into the city's hottest parties, can't-miss events and more of the things you should know. But rather than leaving us with a serious case of FOMO, we appreciate WRE as the eyes and ears to a part of the city not everyone gets to experience—striking the perfect balance between voyeuristic and aspirational. Maybe we'll get invited one day, too?

Camp W South Beach proved that one is never too old for summer camp. This summer, the property welcomed “campers” (bored adults looking for a local escape) for three incredible weekend sessions filled with team sports activities (think tennis with a gin-and-tonic refreshments cart), crafting (DIY jewelry with renowned designers) and movie nights like you’ve never experienced before. Watching Troop Beverly Hills under the stars while noshing on caviar and champagne just hits different, ya know?

The Instagram account everyone is following, Only in Dade highlights all of the weird, wonderful and downright ridiculous moments you can, well, only experience in Miami-Dade. User submissions pour in as people from around South Florida eagerly tag and share for the opportunity to be reposted on what’s arguably the most important social media account in these parts of the world.

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The City of Miami Beach partnered with artist studio and exhibition space Oolite Arts a new Sustainability in Action PSA video contest to encourage Miamians to reduce waste. Ten winners were selected and received a nice chunk of cash to produce their own videos and get the word out about being green. Sounds like a win-win to us.

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