Nic Collins, 16
Famous fam: He gets his drumming chops from pop-star dad Phil Collins, natch.
Why we’re watching: Nic’s band, Fifty Eight Hundred, has played the Montreux Jazz and Okeechobee Music & Arts festivals. “We take inspiration from classic rock, alternative rock, hard rock, funk and blues, which really gives our music a unique sound,” the high school senior (he skipped a year) tells Alexa.
Breakout moment: In August 2016, the then-15-year-old performed arguably the world’s most famous drum fill — from his dad’s beloved “In the Air Tonight” — to a full house as NYC’s Arthur Ashe Stadium roof slowly opened.
Basel bona fides: Find his band at Miami’s Fillmore, part of a fund-raiser for the Little Dreams Foundation, where his mother, Orianne, serves as CEO.
Up next: Fifty Eight Hundred will debut a self-produced album next year. “I hope to become a great musician in my own right, instead of being remembered for being Phil Collins’ son,” Nic says.
Nayib Estefan, 37 and Emily Estefan, 22
Famous fam: These creative siblings are the children of Miami-based music-biz royalty Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
Why we’re watching: Nayib (right) is the owner of the Design District’s Nite Owl Theater, a screening room reviving 35-mm film. On Saturday nights, his Secret Celluloid Society shows cult classics to cool-kid cinephiles just before midnight. Multi-instrumentalist and singer Emily, released her first album, the jazzy “Take Whatever You Want,” in February. It debuted on four Billboard charts.
Breakout moment: In 2014, film buff Nayib launched a midnight movie series in the back room of Gramps bar. Some 400 films later, his sold-out screenings have included Daft Punk’s “Interstella 5555” and Dario Argento’s “Suspiria.” Emily made her singing debut that same year at the Hollywood Bowl — in front of 100,000 people.
Basel bona fides: Nayib helms a film festival at the Nite Owl during Basel, entitled “Arthouse a Go Go.” Expect “a weeklong blitz of some of the most notorious art-house classics, including the ‘Twin Peaks’ movie and three films by Alejandro Jodorowsky, all projected on 35 mm film,” he tells Alexa.
Up next: Nayib aims to bring more art-house lovers to the Design District, “where they totally get” the thrill of seeing films on celluloid. Emily is growing her fan base on Instagram, now at 102,000. Catch them having a Cuban dinner at their parents’ new resto, Estefan Kitchen, in the Design District.
Marisa Fort, 37 and Raymond Fort, 29
Famous fam: They’re among the seven children of Arquitectonica principals and architectural powerhouses Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear.
Why we’re watching: The smart siblings — she’s a graduate of Barnard and Harvard, he of Cornell and Columbia — are tackling big problems like climate change, rising sea levels and urban density as members of their parents’ firm.
Breakout moment: The pair’s independent project in Coconut Grove, the Engle Building, has drawn fun tenants, like a shared workspace and a surf shop. A former parking lot will become a boutique hotel. “Asphalt is not the best or most sustainable use of land,” quips Ray.
Basel bona fides: Marisa is most excited about the all-woman art fair at Brickell City Center, an Arquitectonica project.
Up next: Their 13,000-square-foot Thomas P. Murphy School of Architecture at the University of Miami opens in early 2018 — the school’s first new construction since the early 1990s.
Jon Paul Pérez, 33
Famous fam: He’s the son of mega-developer Jorge Pérez, founder and CEO of the Related Group and a major donor behind namesake Pérez Art Museum Miami.
Why we’re watching: As a VP of Related, JP is helping transform Wynwood from a sketchy hangout to the coolest place to live in Miami. He’s bringing the area’s first two residential buildings to market by 2019-ish, including mixed-use Wynwood 25, with 289 rental units. “The architecture is very clean and simple, almost warehouse-like,” he says.
Breakout moment: After working six years for his father’s partner Steve Ross in New York, JP moved back to Miami to oversee a 200-unit rental property in Plantation, Fla., that had just broken ground. He sold it for a handsome profit — when he was just 29.
Basel bona fides: Look for JP at the VIP events on Wednesday before the fair opens to the public and at the Soho Beach House tent throughout the week. Related will also have a booth at one of the satellite fairs, Pinta.
Up next: The scion is in charge of the forthcoming Cesar Pelli-designed Residences by Armani Casa in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. “It’s 56 stories, and I have less than two years until it’s done, so that will take up a good portion of my time,” says JP.
Quinn Harrelson, 17
Famous fam: Quinn’s mom is Sarah Harrelson, founder and editor of art-world darling Cultured Magazine; his dad is interior designer Austin Harrelson.
Why we’re watching: Last summer he opened a Little Haiti gallery, Current Projects, and put up a show called “Night Sweats,” focusing on black magic and syncretism — heavy subjects for a high-school sophomore.
Breakout moment: Harrelson guest-curated the show “Cabin Pressure” earlier this year as part of a revered migrating installation called BBQLA. It featured Purvis Young, an outsider artist whose works helped form Harrelson’s “privileged view” of the art world. The Los Angeles Times touted it in its Datebook section.
Basel bona fides: During the fairs, the teen is hoping to avoid the traffic. “I’ve been encouraging artists to engage Biscayne Bay, the Intracoastal Waterway and these bodies of water,” he tells us. “The kind of art I’m most interested in is haptic or tactile art.”
Up next: In January, his one-window gallery is putting up a solo show documenting his artist friend Ser Serpas’ medical transition. “She says it’s crazy that the medical-industrial complex decides what a ‘trans’ body should look like,” he says.
Justin Van Aken, 37
Famous fam: His father is legendary Miami chef Norman Van Aken, generally praised for introducing the concept of “fusion” to epicures around the globe.
Why we’re watching: Ensconced at his father’s new Wynwood restaurant, Three, Justin is turning out fascinating cocktails — a welcome respite from the crazy hours he worked as a sous and pastry chef for more than a decade. “I realized that behind the bar, you have the opportunity to engage with guests and be a craftsperson,” he says.
Breakout moment: The near-vegan (“I have a lingering love affair with fine cheeses”) had been assistant manager at vegan gastropub Soul Tavern on Miami Beach, but was “downsized” after the hurricane — a blessing in disguise. Now he’s honing his skills at his father’s resto and rooftop with house cocktails like “Lucky No. 3” and classics such as“Old Pal.”“I love cool bar-nerd stuff,” he says, including “switchels, oxymels and sekanjabins.”
Basel bona fides: Friday and Saturday nights, he’ll be focused on the art of bartending.
Up next: He’s keeping it humble: “There is this concept with Zen Buddhism that says that with a beginner, there is a limitlessness, but whe you consider yourself an expert, you close your mind, and not as much is possible.”