‘I’ve been to at least 20 editions of Art Basel in Basel. And still, I get lost every year.

‘I grew up in Munich, and my mother was the tastemaker in the family. She has a very good eye. She frequented local art fairs, and when she took me along, it was a wonderland. It might sound odd, but relatively early on, I knew I would study art history. I would say that a small collecting gene was passed on to me through my mom.

‘The first thing to do at the fair is grab a printed floor plan. Don’t use your phone unless it’s for some quick research. Take a good old pen (don’t lose the pen – this is important!) and take notes about everything you like.

‘As an art advisor at UBS, I’m responsible for Europe, Latin America, and Asia. A good advisor is someone who’s very knowledgeable, but who continues to study a lot; someone who, at the same time, steps back and listens to the people they work with. You share thoughts and embark on a journey together.

‘Obviously, I have my own personal tastes, but I try not to impose my opinions on my clients. I try to be as objective and impartial as possible. You have to be humble, because you learn from one another: buying the best you can is my motto!

‘There’s a mutual learning curve between an advisor and the client, especially when it comes to art, because we are all brought up with different backgrounds and in different regions of the world. We all have a different visual background that we carry around, which contains different memories and education.

‘It’s important to identify the cultural themes of the client’s collection and to extend them to a global scale. This could be something that’s related to family history, or the company history, if it’s a corporate collection, or just something that is close to the heart of a collector. As an advisor, if you introduce a collector to a new idea or concept that they hadn’t considered before, such as expanding their global view on collecting or on curatorial themes, then I think you’ve done a good job. Supporting the transition of collections to the next generation, discussing publicly accessible initiatives, building a private museum and embracing extended family members into a collector’s adventure, are all important pillars to my work.

‘If you’re going with a friend or a partner, what I usually recommend is that you separate from one another, at least for the first 2 hours. Go through the booths systematically. At some point, you will probably cross paths, then you can compare notes and make recommendations to each other.

‘Don’t chat too much because you need to concentrate, and don’t get lost greeting too many people that you know. I know many seasoned collectors who tend not to say hello to anybody at the fair, just because they want to focus on the art. Don’t be offended if someone doesn’t say hi to you!

‘Everybody asks: What did you love most? They want to have three cherry-picked names. But I often refuse, because I think, as a good advisor, you need to say, “go look at everything.” Otherwise, you’re not educating yourself, you’re just consuming something that someone else has given you.

‘Now, I’m disobeying my number one rule of not wanting to name anyone specifically! I’m very excited about the Balkan artists that will be present at the fair, including a Petrit Halilaj artwork on the façade of the Merian hotel, co-presented by UBS and Art Basel, as well as Maja Bajevic’s commission in the UBS Lounge.

‘I’m also a huge Venice Biennale fan, so I’m excited to see a lot of artists from this year’s edition at Art Basel. I’m definitely curious to see an installation by Swedish artist Lap-See Lam for the Parcours sector. We also have three artists represented in the UBS collection that are participating at the Biennale – Jeffrey Gibson for the US pavilion, Julien Creuzet for the French pavilion, and Kapwani Kiwanga for the Canadian pavilion – all three of whom I love.

‘My final tips for the fair are these: eat well – get a decent breakfast before the fair opens – wear comfortable shoes and go with an open mind to discover something new!’

Carola Wiese is Senior Art Specialist at Family Advisory, Art & Collecting, at UBS Global Wealth Management.