Miami during Art Basel is a circus. And I mean that in the nicest, (but also, emphasizing how chaotic it is) way possible.
There are brand pop-ups on every corner, open bar “networking events” that go from day to night, and influencers doing the absolute most. Oh, and of course, there’s art. It’s exhausting if we’re being honest.
Saint Week isn’t that.
For the second year, Paula Grant and her team at Saint & Citizen took over the Rubell Museum from December 4-6, and it included three days of programming that people are still talking about (at least, in my circles they are). Grant (the organization’s CEO and co-founder) and her team—Corey Edness (co-founder and chief of A&R and creative services), Deondre ‘Trakmatik’ Collins (COO), Jareiq “JQ” Kabara (chief brand officer), Marina Skye (creative director), and Joey Harris (the chief of talent and cultural relations)—built something that’s becoming impossible to ignore during Art Basel. Not because it’s the loudest or the flashiest, but because it actually stands for something.
“Saint Week is built from a deeper place,” Grant tells ESSENCE. “It’s not driven by hype or hierarchy, but by reverence for culture, creativity, and the people who shape it. In a week that can feel fast and transactional, our intention is to create spaces where people experience culture as something living, breathing, and sacred.”
Last year they came through with Saint Sessions Live and brought out Pusha T, Lena Waithe, Janelle Monáe, Ari Melber, D-Nice. It became one of the Basel events that had people still talking about months later (and wanting to make sure they were in the building for 2025). This year they went bigger with Saint Week: three full days under the theme “The Living Originals.” Clipse did a rare immersive performance, Damson Idris and Jamaal Burkmar talked craft and LaQuan Smith and Emma Grede broke down building legacy in fashion. Oh, and then it was time to party. Kaytranada and DJ Spinall closed it out, and helped attendees do just that.
The lineup alone doesn’t tell you what makes it different though. And I get it, because plenty of Art Basel events can pull names. But what Saint & Citizen is doing is harder to replicate because it requires actual intention, and it’s felt through every fiber of the event as soon as you step in the building.
The platform itself came together because Grant and her co-founders were all moving in different creative industries and kept hitting the same wall. “We didn’t see enough spaces that honored depth and nuance alongside visibility,” Grant says. “Everything felt either too commercial or too disconnected.” They built Saint & Citizen to live in the gap, the space between aspiration and reality. That’s even in the name—Saint for what we’re reaching toward, Citizen for who we are right now.
And they’re not trying to become the next big media platform doing everything for everyone. When I ask Grant about scaling Saint Week while keeping it intimate, her answer makes it clear they’re not interested in the usual growth playbook.
“Scaling doesn’t mean becoming louder or more crowded. It means becoming more intentional,” she explains. They’re building layered experiences—some public, some private—so the energy can expand without losing what makes it special. If something doesn’t feel right, they won’t do it, regardless of how big the opportunity looks on paper.
That kind of discernment shows up in how they choose partnerships too. In a space where a co-sign or a brand deal can seem like the move, Grant is selective about what Saint & Citizen attaches itself to. “Some partnerships look powerful from the outside but feel hollow on the inside,” she says. “I’m guided by whether the relationship honors culture, creativity, and community in a real way.”
It’s a framework that more founders should probably be thinking about, especially Black women founders trying to build businesses that don’t require them to compromise their vision for viability. Grant’s advice: “Build from your values first and let the business grow from there. When your foundation is clear, the money has somewhere honest to land.”
She also emphasizes learning the business deeply. And this means knowing how money moves, how contracts work and how teams get built. “Don’t shrink your vision to make others comfortable,” she says. “Your perspective is not a liability. It’s an asset.”
After watching “The Living Originals” theme play out across three days, Grant says it confirmed something she’s been sensing about where culture is headed. “Culture is shifting back to people, not platforms. The most powerful voices right now aren’t always the loudest or the most visible. There’s a clear collective move away from spectacle for spectacle’s sake and toward depth, meaning, and intention.”
And honestly, you can feel it. People are tired of performing for the algorithm, tired of events that exist so you can post about them instead of actually experiencing them.
What happens next for Saint & Citizen isn’t about going to ten more cities or doing fifty more events. Grant is focused on refinement. They’re deepening what they’ve already built: Saint Sessions Live as their conversation series, Citizen’s Lounge for community gathering, Saints Table for intimate dining experiences, and Café Citizen as an everyday touchpoint. The goal is building a year-round rhythm that feels considered, not chaotic.
We all know that most of Art Basel runs on hype and FOMO. But Saint & Citizen built something else entirely. And judging by the response this year, they’re onto something people actually want.