Miami Art Museum Receives $35 Million, to be Renamed After Donor

The Miami Art Museum will be renamed as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County after it received a $35-million naming gift by a donor.

The museum has announced that due to the contribution by a long-time museum supporter and Miami-Dade County business leader Jorge M. Pérez, the museum will be renamed in his honor.

The gift includes $15 million in support to the institution's Capital Campaign on top of his original $5 million pledge at the campaign's outset, bringing his total monetary support for the museum's building project to $20 million. It is 300 percent increase from his original pledge.

It was also reported that Pérez will donate a portion of his Latin American art collection, valued at more than $15 million, to the museum's permanent collection, bringing his total support to the museum to $35 million.

As Miami-Dade's chief public art museum, MAM is a focal point of the area's diverse cultural landscape. Our new facility will expand on our ability to represent and support the tremendous artistic energy in Miami, said Thom Collins, MAM's director.

Jorge has long shared our vision for a flourishing artistic hub and recognized that cultural development is a key element to community building. His generous gift brings us one step closer to achieving our shared goal, he further mentioned.

However, not all welcomed the news of renaming the museum. The New York Times reported a recently resigned trustee, Thomas Collins, as saying that the museum should not have been sold to a private individual.