“Star Power” of Sirmans ’91 Draws Crowd to Miami Museum

Franklin Sirmans ’91, director of the Pérez Art Museum of Miami (PAMM), was credited for his “star power” that drew a crowd to the museum’s reception and fundraiser. The first African-American director of this publicly funded museum, Sirman was previously curator of contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

An article in the Miami Herald quoted Knight Foundation President and CEO Alberto Ibargüen ’66, who attributed the rise in attendance—double that of last year—to previously successful celebrations, as well as to Sirman’s arrival: “There is no getting around the fact that people are excited about Franklin Sirmans; they’re energized and they’re proud that he’s our museum director.”

Ibargüen notes that Sirmans took on the leadership of the museum “just after the opening of a fabulous new building on Biscayne Bay by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron.”
The Knight Foundation and real estate developer Pérez, for whom the museum is named, contributed $1 million to PAMM’s African American Art Fund to purchase works by African Americans. The evening event was designed to raise awareness of the project and to strengthen connections with the African American community.

“Franklin is determined to make PAMM both Miami’s most popular arts stop, and a place of scholarship and artistic rigor,” says Ibargüen. “He and Jessica are welcome additions to a town that welcomes builders.”