The Miami Herald offers its top five art events in the city that’s home to major private collections and ArtBasel Miami Beach:

1. The Havana Biennial: Although Miami’s contemporary art establishment is more tuned in to New York, Los Angeles and London than Havana, the 10th Havana Biennial provided the most powerful example of why art matters. In a packed performance piece staged by artist Tania Bruguera, Cubans and foreign visitors took to a podium to protest the lack of freedom of expression on the island. The taped performance got global exposure through YouTube.

2. Guillermo Kuitca: Everything, Paintings and Works on Paper, 1980-2008: The Argentine artist’s affecting paintings, drawings and installations explore the intersections of private and public spaces in this retrospective at the Miami Art Museum.

3. William Kentridge: Five Themes at the Norton Museum of Art: The West Palm Beach exhibit surveyed three decades of artwork from the South African artist, who explores colonial oppression, apartheid and other political systems through drawings, theater models and acclaimed black-and-white animation films.

4. Dog Tales: Words and Images, Fact and Fiction: In this charming and accessible show at the Miami-Dade Public Library System’s downtown Main Library (with companion exhibits throughout regional branches), some 30 South Florida artists celebrate their canine relationships in painting, sculpture, photography and video.

5. The de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space: Collectors Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz opened during Art Basel Miami Beach the museum-like, three-story space to display their world-class collection in the Design District. Visits are free. The year’s most anticipated addition to the art scene did not disappoint, with a clever arrangement of Miami and Cuban artists, some underappreciated, sharing the space with international stars.

The Year in Review: Visual Arts (Miami Herald)