“On behalf of the museum and the audiences we serve throughout Miami-Dade County, I want to express our gratitude to Steve Ross for his generosity,” said Thom Collins, MAM’s director. “MAM is a focal point for the incredible cultural diversity throughout the region—a region Steve knows well. His gift, along with the many others that have supported our campaign, makes it possible for us to expand on the ways in which we tap into the city’s tremendous artistic energy.”

The Fifth Annual Corporate Luncheon, presented by South Motors Automotive Group, was attended by approximately 320 business leaders representing more than 50 corporations, and raised over $150,000 for the Museum’s public and education programs. Honorary Luncheon Chairman J. Ricky Arriola, president and CEO of Inktel Contact Center Solutions, presented Target with the 2012 MAM Corporate Honors for its philanthropic efforts and integral support of South Florida’s cultural institutions, and Ross and Pérez served as keynote speakers, discussing the role that art and design play in urban environments. Luncheon Chairmen were Pedro A. Fernandez, principal at Bernstein Global Wealth Management and Alex Espenkotter, partner at Heller Waldman, PL.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez closed the event by thanking the corporate community: “Our corporate citizens play a huge role in this community's transformation into a global destination for arts and culture, and I commend today's honoree -- Target -- for its generous contributions,'' Mayor Gimenez said. ''The positive impact that the arts have on our community can be felt across the board. In terms of numbers, non-profit arts and cultural businesses employ more than 22,000 people locally and have a $1 billion annual impact on our economy. In practical terms, the arts enrich the lives of our residents and draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to our hometown every year.  And the Museum Park project now rising along Biscayne Bay is a taste of what's to come in our arts evolution -- its impact will be tremendous!''

Once open to the public, the new Pérez Art Museum Miami will be an anchor of the new, 29-acre Museum Park overlooking Biscayne Bay and will include public gardens and sculpture installations. It will include 32,000 square feet of galleries for MAM’s rapidly growing permanent collection, providing space for larger and more varied displays of the Museum’s collection and special exhibitions. The building will also feature an educational complex with a library, auditorium, classrooms and workshop space, and a café and store. The new design will stimulate and support collection growth and enable MAM to better fulfill its role as an educational resource for the city and beyond.

Stephen M. Ross is the chairman, chief executive officer and founder of Related Companies.  Ross formed the company in 1972 and today the company includes over 2,000 professionals. Related has developed over $20 billion in real estate and owns real estate assets valued at over $15 billion made up of best-in-class mixed-use, residential, retail, office, trade show and affordable properties in premier high-barrier-to-entry markets. 

For the second consecutive year, presenting sponsor of the MAM Corporate Luncheon was South Motors Automotive Group.  Additional Corporate Luncheon sponsors included: platinum sponsor Christie’s; gold sponsors: Bernstein Global Wealth Management, Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP, City National Bank; Espírito Santo Bank, Grossman Roth P.A., Hall, Lamb and Hall, P.A., Inktel Contact Center Solutions, John Moriarty & Associates of Florida, Inc., KPMG LLP, Marcum, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Podhurst Orseck, P.A., Rice Pugatch Robinson & Schiller, P.A., Sabadell, and The Related Group; silver sponsors: Akerman Senterfitt, Bank of America, Bessemer Trust, Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C., Cisneros Group, Frank Crystal & Company, Greenberg Traurig, P.A., Heller Waldman, P.L., Hunton & Williams, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch – van Walleghem / Butler / Moreno / Schena, Miami Dolphins, Northern Trust, Resorts World Miami, SunTrust Bank, Swire Properties, US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske, Wells Fargo; media sponsor: South Florida Business Journal; and in-kind donor Royal Liquors.

About Miami Art Museum
Miami Art Museum, a modern and contemporary art museum located in downtown Miami, FL, is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting international art of the 20th and 21st centuries with an emphasis on the cultures of the Atlantic Rim—the Americas, Europe and Africa—from which the vast majority of Miami residents hail. Miami Art Museum’s educational programming currently reaches nearly 35,000 people every year, with the largest art education program outside the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Miami Art Museum will reopen as Pérez Art Museum Miami in fall of 2013 in downtown Miami’s Museum Park. The new, expanded museum, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, will provide room to showcase growing collections, expanded exhibition space to bring more world-class exhibitions to Miami-Dade County and an educational complex. For more information about Miami Art Museum, visit miamiartmuseum.org or call 305.375.3000.

The new Pérez Art Museum Miami is supported by the Building Better Communities Bond Program and the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, Miami Art Museum is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts; with the support of Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners. Miami Art Museum is an accessible facility. For sign language interpretation or assistive listening devices please call Miami Art Museum’s education department 305.375.4073 at least two weeks in advance. Materials in accessible format may be requested.