The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) has announced two major gifts totaling $7 million for its Caribbean Cultural Institute (CCI). The Mellon Foundation contributed an additional $2 million, while the Green Family Foundation (GFF) donated $5 million, leading to the institute's renaming as the Green Family Foundation Caribbean Cultural Institute. The funds will support operating expenses and the endowment of the CCI, which was originally established in 2019 with a $1 million Mellon grant. The Green Family Foundation, founded by Steven J. Green and Dorothea Green, has deep philanthropic roots in Miami, including ties to Florida International University and local art initiatives. Current CCI fellows include artist M. Florine Démosthène, writer Rianna Jade Parker, and anthropologist Celia Irina González.
This gift matters because it significantly strengthens institutional support for Caribbean art and scholarship at a time when Miami is increasingly recognized as a cultural hub connecting the United States to the Caribbean. The funding ensures the CCI can expand its long-term research, programming, and community initiatives, while also deepening collaboration with Florida International University to provide artists and researchers access to archives and collections. The renaming of the institute reflects a growing trend of major philanthropic commitments to regional cultural identity and equity in the art world.