‘It’s like a stamp of approval.’ Miami arts organizations awarded $5 million

Amanda Rosa
·3 min read

A foundation planned to award $3.5 million to Miami arts groups. It gave $5 million instead.

The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization that is part of the Miami Foundation, announced the recipients of its third annual Pérez CreARTE Grants Program this week. The program awards local arts organizations with grants up to $300,000 for two years to cover expenses and fund projects.

This year, the foundation selected 39 cultural organizations -- ranging from arthouse cinemas to visual arts groups to dance conservatories -- from across Miami-Dade County.

Young Musicians Unite is one of 39 Miami arts organizations to receive funding from the Pérez CreARTE Grants Program.
Young Musicians Unite is one of 39 Miami arts organizations to receive funding from the Pérez CreARTE Grants Program.

“The CreARTE program was born of our family’s desire to expand the transformative power of South Florida’s arts community,” said Jorge M. Pérez, the Pérez Family Foundation founder and art collector, in a statement. “Over the past four years, we have remained dedicated in our mission to help identify and support organizations that add to Miami-Dade County’s unique, vibrant cultural landscape. Every year, we are blown away by the talent and vision of our applicants. We look forward to following their professional achievements and contributions to our region in the years ahead.”

The grants were awarded to organizations that work in three categories: arts access, arts education and artist fellowships and residencies.

Here are the grantees for each category.

Arts Access: Armour Dance Theatre; Art Prevails Project; Florida International University Foundation; Miami Children’s Museum; Miami-Dade County Auditorium; Museum of Contemporary Art; O Cinema; Rhythm Foundation; The Deering Estate Foundation; Third Horizon Film Festival; Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora (Miami MoCAAD); [NAME] Publications; Hued Songs; and Commissioner.

Arts Education: Area Stage Company; The Motivational Edge; The Children’s Voice Chorus; Moonlighter FabLab; Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County; African Heritage Cultural Arts Center; Arts for Learning; GableStage; Guitars Over Guns; Juggerknot Theatre Company; MAC; Miami City Ballet; Miami Music Project; Nu Deco Ensemble; O, Miami; Miami New Drama; and Young Musicians Unite.

Artist Fellowships and Residencies: The Writers Room @ The Betsy; Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA); Bakehouse Art Complex; Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI); Fountainhead Arts; Miami Dade College - Miami Book Fair; Miami Light Project; and Oolite Arts.

Vivian Marthell, the founder and CEO of O Cinema, said the $100,000 grant from CreARTE will fund the cinema’s efforts to bring augmented and virtual reality to the masses. While O Cinema remains an art house cinema, it’s important to take advantage of new technologies for storytelling, Marthell said.

Vivian Marthell and Kareem Tabsch, cofounders of O Cinema.
Vivian Marthell and Kareem Tabsch, cofounders of O Cinema.

For one project, O Cinema is working with artist Carla Forte to bring “augmented reality encounters” of portraits of Latina women to The Underline, the linear park and walking trail underneath the Metrorail. The CreARTE funding will also go toward a program it started last year that brings virtual reality experiences to Miami-Dade libraries.

“They trust us and they trust our experience,” Marthell said of the foundation. “They believe in what we stand for. That is always a very heartfelt acknowledgment, that the work we’re doing to support arts and culture in our community is being valued.”

Fountainhead Arts, a visual arts nonprofit, also received $100,000 to expand its residency program that attracts artists from around the world and country to Miami. The support from CreARTE and the Pérez Family Foundation is extremely important to Fountainhead, in terms of both finances and credibility, said founder Kathryn Mikesell.

Kathryn Mikesell, the co-founder of Fountainhead and Artists Open.
Kathryn Mikesell, the co-founder of Fountainhead and Artists Open.

CreARTE helps organizations sustain their day-to-day tasks and existing programs that “serve as part of the foundation of Miami,” she said.

“It’s like a stamp of approval. If they’re investing out, I’ll invest in them because they’re obviously living up to their mission,” Mikesell said. “They’re exceeding their mission and setting doing what they set out to do.”

Editor’s Note: The Pérez CreARTE Grants Program funds the position of Miami Herald Arts Writer.

This story was produced with financial support from The Pérez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.