MIAMI—The hot collecting fields of modern and contemporary art, and of design, have been cozying up for a while. Now they’re getting even closer. On November 22, Messe Schweiz, the parent company of the Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach fairs, as well as other trade shows, announced that it is taking out a 50 percent holding in Design Miami Basel Ltd., which was set up in April 2007 to run Design Miami Basel, and also a 10 percent holding in Design Miami II, LLC, the company that organizes Design Miami.

According to a statement issued by Messe Schweiz, the company will be involved in strategy for and operation of Design Miami, and the board of directors will be comprised of René Kamm, CEO of Messe Schweiz, and Craig Robins, the Miami-based real estate developer and art collector who was a founder and, until now, general owner of the Design shows. The management will be made up of two representatives of each of the partners.

“Taking out a holding in the Design shows constitutes a highly attractive addition to our international exhibition portfolio,” explains Kamm in Messe Schweiz’s statement. “At the same time, we can have a say in the positioning of the Design shows and in drawing the line between design and art for purposes of the show. This will also further consolidate our Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach.”

Robins says that Ambra Medda remains director of the design fairs, and that the recent deal “formalizes a long-term collaboration between the design fairs and Art Basel and its parent company.” For instance, according to Robins, in the years before the design fair was launched in Miami in 2005, outgoing Art Basel director Sam Keller worked closely with him on coordinating “Art Loves Design,” a party that takes place in Miami’s design district during Art Basel Miami Beach. Robins also emphasized the “incredible synergy” between the two fairs, as design has in recent years become a desirable collecting field for those already interested in contemporary art.

Design Miami was launched in Miami in 2005, and expanded to Basel, Switzerland, in 2006, to coincide with Art Basel. (The second Design Miami Basel took place in June 2007.) “It became natural, as we brought the fair to Switzerland, that we formalize a partnership, so Messe Schweiz made an investment. This is symbolic of the close relationship we have developed,” Robins said. Because dealers do not show design in Art Basel, the two fairs are seen to be complementary, rather than competitive.

Robins said the formal partnership will not necessarily affect programming at either fair, but expects a boost from the parent company’s clout. “It will have a tremendous impact in ways you don't see because of Messe Schweiz’s strength and expertise, and knowledge of logistics and of growing fairs. It has maintained Art Basel as the best art show in the world.”

Sarah Douglas is staff writer for Art+Auction.