300-Drone Art Performance Coming to Miami Beach

During this year’s Art Basel in Miami Beach, the BMW Group and Amsterdam-based Studio Drift are putting on a performance of 300 illuminated drones simulating a flock of birds above the beach.

According to a BMW press release, “FRANCHISE FREEDOM – a flying sculpture by Studio Drift in partnership with BMW” is a performative artwork at the interface between technology, science and art. An autonomous flying swarm of 300 drones, each equipped with a light source, will imitate the natural phenomenon of a flock. The performance will take place on Dec. 6 at 9:00 p.m. behind the Faena Hotel Miami Beach.

To create “FRANCHISE FREEDOM,” Studio Drift studied the natural flight patterns of starlings and translated them into software that was specially developed and embedded in the drones. BMW has supported Art Basel in Miami Beach as a long-term partner.

Hildegard Wortmann, senior vice president of brand at BMW, says, “Studio Drift and BMW both subscribe to a symbiosis of innovation and beauty. I congratulate [the artists] Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta for the perseverance in turning their endeavor into a reality. ‘FRANCHISE FREEDOM’ is both a technological wonder and an aesthetic experience to behold.”