MIAMI, FL.- The capital campaign for
Miami Art Museums new, state-of-the-art facility, opening as Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) this December, has now reached 85 percent of its total $220 million goal, following a gift of $15 million in cash and art that was announced today at the Museums annual Corporate Luncheon. An anonymous donor pledged $12 million to Pérez Art Museum Miamis capital campaign, as well as an additional $3 million in art, selected by the Museums curatorial staff. With all necessary funds for bricks and mortar already raised, this gift will support the endowment for expanded exhibitions and educational programming in the Museums new, 200,000 square foot, Biscayne Bay front campus designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron.
As the construction of our new home nears completion, we are gratified to see members of Miamis business and philanthropic community step up in such a significant way to ensure the success of this museum, said Museum Director Thom Collins, who announced the gift together with Board of Trustees Chairman Aaron Podhurst at the Luncheon. Thanks to this incredibly generous donor, along with Miami-Dade County, Jorge Pérez, the Fernandez family, the Knight Foundation, members of our board of trustees, and many more of our friends in the private sector, this city will finally have the public art resource and world-class center for the visual arts it deserves.
The Sixth Annual Miami Art Museum Corporate Luncheon Presented by South Motors celebrated the corporate communitys integral support of the arts throughout the region. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez welcomed the 350 business, cultural and civic leaders in attendance, and thanked them for their commitment to the Countys cultural vitality: The public sector cant do it alone we rely on the corporate communitys generosity, too. Our corporate citizens have played a huge role in this communitys transformation into a global destination for arts and culture, and I commend todays honoree, MBF Healthcare Partners, for their contributions.
Corporate Honors was presented to Miami-based private investment firm MBF Healthcare Partners, whose leadership in corporate philanthropy has made a major impact on the South Florida community. MBF Healthcare Partners Senior Associate Alex Fernandez accepted the award. Last December, MBF Healthcare Partners Chairman Miguel B. Mike Fernandez and family announced a $5 million donation to the capital campaign for Pérez Art Museum Miami.
Craig Robins, president of development company Dacra, and Museum Director Thom Collins discussed how the arts have transformed South Florida. Dacra played an integral role in the repositioning and revitalization of Miamis South Beach through the restoration of Art Deco landmarks and developed mixed-use projects on Lincoln Road and Española Way, and transformed a once abandoned neighborhood the Miami Design District into one of the most important global centers for cutting edge design, fashion, food and art. Robins is also a principal of the leading international design show Design Miami/ and Design Miami/ Basel.
The MAM Corporate Luncheon honorary chair was Craig Robins, president of Dacra, and chairs were: Alex Espenkotter, partner, Heller Waldman, P.L.; Pedro A. Fernandez, principal, Bernstein Global Wealth Management; Sarah Johnson, senior client executive, Aon Private Risk Management; and Daniel Novela, president, Novela Law. Corporate Luncheon committee members were: David Barkus, Greenberg Traurig; Jack Chadam, Node7 Advisors; and Jeffrey Gutchess, Bilzin Sumberg.