Miami Art Museum Ball

Crowns Art Basel Miami Beach Festivities

Miami Art Museum’s 2007 Ball looked elegantly ahead to the museum’s new home at Museum Park, by taking place on the very site on which the new museum will be built.

This year’s gala took place at Bicentennial Park – to be re-named Museum Park – the location of the future Miami Art Museum building which is being designed by world-famous architects Herzog & de Meuron.

MAM’s annual Ball is one of the most anticipated events of the Miami social calendar. It crowns a week of art-related events attended by civic leaders, art patrons, as well as international guests drawn to Miami and Miami Beach for Art Basel. Proceeds from the fundraising event provide vital annual support for MAM’s public programs and exhibitions.

Co-chairs Mary and Howard Frank and Jim and Suzanne Dockerty created a glamorously unique evening inside a mammoth series of tents in the park, with a glittering view overlooking Biscayne Bay and both the Miami and Miami Beach skylines.

“This year’s MAM Ball was one of our most successful ever,” said Ball Co-Chair and MAM President, Mary Frank. “Our goal was to entertain our guests with a celebration of both the museum’s past and its promise for a great future in Museum Park—and it seems that we succeeded. It was very satisfying to see Herzog and de Meuron’s design for the new museum generating energy and excitement that were palpable. The MAM Ball is our single largest annual fundraiser and we achieved great results thanks to the generosity of our supporters.”

An impressive array of prestigious guests were drawn from a “Who’s Who” of Miami, including Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff and his wife Teresa, Miami City Commisioner Joe Sanchez and his wife Beatriz, County Manager George Burgess, CIFO founder Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, Sanford and Delores Ziff, Alberto and Susana Ibarguen, Dr. Phillip and Patricia Frost and Donald and Katarina Peebles.

The imposing list of high-profile attendees continues with world-famous architect Jacques Herzog, outgoing Art Basel Director Sam Keller, artists George Bures Miller and Enrique Martinez-Celaya, Ocean Drive Sr VP Alan Randolph, fashion designer Julian Chang and Deco Drive co-host Louis Aguirre.

MAM depends on private donations to help fulfill its role as a civic and cultural institution. The MAM Ball becomes more successful each year, thanks to Miami Art Museum patrons; a diverse reflection of Miami’s demographic profile including core figures in the business, civic and cultural communities.

Since its inception, MAM has worked closely with the community to develop and carry out the largest museum arts education program in Miami-Dade County, build a permanent collection dedicated to international art and presenting lively exhibition programs.

Miami Art Museum receives both private and public funding. More than 50 percent of its annual support comes from corporations, individuals, foundations and MAM members.