One witness to the attack on unnamed victim by Siyuan Zhao at Art Basel event thought it was staged and that blood was fake

A woman has been charged with attempted murder after stabbing another woman at the biggest art fair in the US, in an attack that was wrongly interpreted by onlookers as performance art.

Siyuan Zhao, from New York, was arrested after stabbing the victim’s arms and neck with an X-Acto craft knife during a fight at the Art Basel event in Miami Beach on Friday.

The victim, who has not been identified, was taken to Jackson Memorial hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Zhao has been detained at Turner Guilford Knight correctional center, local detective Kathleen Prieto told the Miami Herald.

Liane Morejon, a WPLG reporter, posted images on Twitter of the victim and assailant moments after the stabbing at around 5.15pm. According to the arrest report, while she was being patted down, Zhao spontaneously stated: “I had to kill her and two more.” She is also alleged to have said: “I had to watch her bleed!”

The incident, which happened near an exhibit by the artist Naomi Fisher, prompted at least one witness to think he was watching performance art. Fisher told the Miami Herald: “A guy walked up to me and said: ‘I thought I saw a performance, and I thought it was fake blood, but it was real blood.’”

The paper said other witnesses later thought the police tape cordoning the area was an art installation. Art Basel Miami Beach spokeswoman Sara Fitzmaurice said: “The attack was an isolated incident that was immediately secured. Our thoughts are with the victim.”