(Photo courtesy World Red Eye)
South Florida’s business community gathered on Sept. 27 to honor Publix Super Markets Charities during the 10th annual Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) Corporate Luncheon presented by STARR Catering Group.
For nearly 20 years, Publix Super Markets Charities’ financial involvement and partnership with the museum has helped to fund special exhibitions and educational programming for PAMM’s visitors.
“Publix Super Markets Charities has helped build community with their contributions to PAMM’s Second Saturday initiative, providing an accessible monthly program to connect people to art, introduce families to the museum’s dynamic education department, and reach new audiences,” said Deborah Koch, PAMM Corporate Honors presenter and vice president of U.S. Regional Marketing, J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
In addition to PAMM, Publix Super Markets Charities supports a variety of nonprofit organizations engaged in life-changing work, making a deep impact throughout the Southeastern United States. Its contributions result in stronger communities infused with hope and preparedness for a brighter future.
“Miami is fortunate to be home to many successful businesses and professionals who care about the communities they operate in,” said PAMM director Franklin Sirmans. “This museum, and Miami’s cultural landscape, is growing and thriving because of businesses that provide support to the arts, and incorporate culture into the core of their business philosophies.”
Hundreds of South Florida’s most influential business leaders attended the highly anticipated annual luncheon, which honors the corporate community for its vital support of the arts in South Florida. Attendees enjoyed a delicious lunch reception by STARR Catering Group, explored new exhibitions, and viewed a short film highlighting preservation and conservation efforts of art and architecture for future generations. The video showcased Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project, which has helped restore three works from PAMM’s permanent collection; FENDI’s restoration of the historic Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy, and Miami Dade College’s management and preservation of the Freedom Tower, a National Historic Landmark, as well as the Tower Theater, the Koubek Center Mansion and Gardens, and the Dyer Building.
“What these organizations have in common is the belief in the power of the arts to connect to communities, to enrich lives, to drive our economies, and create a legacy,” said Oti Roberts, luncheon co-chair and managing director of Deutsche Bank. “They exemplify the benefits of working together to find synergy, to fund exhibitions, preservation projects, and education initiatives that speak to the corporate community and PAMM’s vision of being Miami’s museum.”
The PAMM Corporate Luncheon raises funds for the museum’s education programs. PAMM is the largest provider of art education outside of Miami-Dade County School District, reaching more than 160,000 children since opening in its new Herzog & de Meuron-designed building in December 2013.
Corporate support has made many of these free educational programs possible, including: free family activities every second Saturday; Art Detectives, a new education program that promotes critical and timely dialogue between community youth and police; Brick x Brick, a program for at-risk teens which takes place at community centers in underserved areas throughout Miami-Dade County, and focuses on architecture, design and community planning, and PAMM in the Neighborhood, a summer camp program for underserved youth, among others.
For more information, visit www.pamm.org.
