Housing Great Collections & Outstanding Education Programs

Prior to becoming a collecting museum in 1996, MAM's predecessor, the Center for Fine Arts, was strictly an exhibiting organization, presenting exhibitions from the entire breadth of art history. It had no collection of its own. As part of an institution-wide reorganization, the new MAM dedicated itself to collecting and exhibiting international art of the 20th and 21st centuries with a special emphasis on art of the Americas. Its collection has grown rapidly and now numbers more than 800 works of art in all mediums. The new Pérez Art Museum Miami at Museum Park will provide vastly expanded exhibition space to present these growing collections.

Miami-Dade is the only major metropolitan area in the United States that does not have a major art museum serving the full spectrum of its community. Therefore, MAM began building a new facility commensurate with Miami's position as a hemispheric hub and creative capital.  The museum embraces its role as a cultural anchor and touchstone in a city that welcomes diverse ethnic and age groups, lifestyles and ideas.

In January 2011, MAM began construction on a building with generous spaces to showcase its art holdings and a state-of-the-art educational complex that will be a resource for the entire community.  In December 2011, Jorge M. Pérez, longtime board member and leading collector of Latin American art, made a landmark $35 million gift to MAM. The institution will open in its new home in 2013 as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County.