www.ambiente.us DECEMBER | DICIEMBRE 2008
New FROST Art Museum Opens in Miami's Florida International University
Housed on the University Park campus of Florida
International University, The Patricia & Phillip Frost
Art Museum (formerly The Art Museum at FIU)
opened in 1977. Initially a small gallery of less than
3000 square feet, the Museum grew to achieve
local, national and international recognition as
one of South Florida’s key cultural institutions. The
Frost Art Museum’s extraordinary programmatic
growth during the 1980s and 1990s, qualified the
Museum for designation as a Major Cultural
Institution by both the State of Florida and Miami-Dade
County. Grants from both sources, complimented by endowments, membership and private and corporate
giving, provide stable funding for annual programs. In 1999, the Museum received accreditation from the
American Associations of Museums (AAM) and in 2001 became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
Following the groundbreaking for its new facilities in 2003, the Art Museum at FIU was officially renamed The
Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. The Frost Art Museum also became a unit under the new College. The
museum gained a respected reputation for its innovative exhibitions, outstanding lecture series and
educational outreach programs for South Florida’s diverse audiences. Through generous support from
private donations as well as state and local government agencies, the Frost Art Museum is able to offer free
admission to all exhibitions and public events.
The Museum’s growing collection has several notable donations of important groups of work. In 1989, the
FIU leadership and the board of the Metropolitan Museum and Art Center in Coral Gables, ensured the intact
survival of this important collection by transferring its ownership to the Frost Art Museum when the private
museum closed.
Student and faculty exhibitions, an important component of the Museum's academic function, present the
work of artists who have achieved significant state and national recognition, including NEA, MacArthur,
Guggenheim and Florida Visual Artist Fellowships. The Betty Laird Perry Emerging Artist Collection was
established with work acquired through the Betty Laird Perry Purchase Award which is granted to selected
BFA and MFA students graduating from the FIU programs in visual arts.
The Frost Art Museum has recently begun to present exhibitions in Latin America and is working on future
collaborations and partnerships with leading art institutions in these regions. These efforts to foster cultural,
educational, and artistic exchanges compliment Florida International University’s commitment to its ever-
growing international audiences.
The Frost Art Museum complements its exhibitions with a wide range of regionally unique and nationally
recognized educational programs. The Steven and Dorothea Green Critics' Lecture Series and the Latin
American & Caribbean Art
Lecture Series directly connect South Florida's
audiences with important artists, critics and
art historians living today. The Wednesday
After-Hours programming is designed to
complement the Museum’s exhibitions and
give visitors the chance to engage with the
contemporary and confront the controversial
via gallery talks, films, live music and
performance art.
Long limited by space, the Frost Art Museum’s
innovative exhibitions and broad range of
educational programs are unparalleled in their
quality and the diversity of audiences they
serve. With the transition to the new 46,000 sq. ft. museum facility in 2008, the Frost Art Museum will have
the opportunity to better serve the University and the South Florida community. Reaffirming its commitment to
the excellence of its collections, exhibitions and educational programs, the Frost Art Museum will continue to
broaden its base of support and serve an increasingly larger and more diverse constituency.
MISSION
The mission of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University is to enrich and
educate local, national and international audiences through the language of art by collecting, preserving,
researching, interpreting and exhibiting art from diverse cultures throughout human history.
The Frost Art Museum, located within a large urban institution, provides an exceptional resource for scholarly
research and interdisciplinary collaboration, augmenting the university’s educational mission as both a local
and global center of knowledge and culture.
The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University envisions itself as:
A cultural beacon for South Florida, with its exhibitions and public programs integrated into the life of the
community as inextricably as its schools, recreational facilities and theaters
A dynamic, research-oriented university visual arts institution that is a center for interdisciplinary training.
NEW BUILDING
The new Frost Art Museum was designed by internationally recognized architect Yann Weymouth of Hellmuth
Obata + Kassabaum (HOK). The 46,000-square foot facility is due to open in 2008.
The structure features a soaring three-story glass atrium entrance and a dramatically suspended staircase
leading to the second and third floors containing over 9,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space. Three of the nine
galleries will be dedicated to the permanent collection, while the remaining six galleries will feature
temporary exhibitions. Among various interior design highlights is the prominent use of natural daylight in
the galleries. Large “leaves” or “petals” are constructed to diffuse ultraviolet by preferentially scattering light to
the walls. This unique gallery lighting was designed by ArupLighting.
Ample storage room for the collection in the new building will allow proper space for conservation, research
and preparation of artwork. On the ground floor the Kenan-Flagler Family Discovery Gallery and Museum
Terrace will serve as the heart of the Museum’s educational and community outreach. Also on the first level
visitors will find the Steven & Dorothea Green Multi-Purpose Auditorium and Lecture Hall, the Dahlia Morgan
Members’ Lounge, the café and museum shop.
The realization of a first-class facility provides increased accessibility to the visual arts to FIU's multicultural
student body, the growing local population and Miami’s visitors. The new museum is destined to become the
cultural heart of the campus and an essential part of Miami’s growing arts community. On its tranquil
lakeside site, the new building frames the "Avenue of the Arts." Accentuated by selected works from the
Museum’s outdoor sculpture collection, the Avenue of the Arts connects the Museum, the Wertheim
Performing Arts Center and the Management and Advanced Research Center (MARC) on the University Park
campus.
UPDATES
Nationally Recognized Miami Art Historian and Curator Carol Damian to Head The Frost Art Museum at FIU.
Carol Damian, professor and former chairperson of FIU’s College of Art and Art History, has been named
interim director of The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum located on the University Park Campus. Damian, a
long respected member of Miami’s arts community, has served as curator of The Museum’s permanent
collection since 2006.
“Dr. Damian has proven to be a dynamic leader who combines scholarly experience, leadership skills and a
passion for the arts,” said FIU Provost and Executive Vice President Ronald M. Berkman. “She is well-
positioned to take over the helm …”
Damian was tapped by Berkman to head The Frost as it gears up for the scheduled November opening of its
spectacular new home -- the 46,000-square-foot building designed by internationally acclaimed architect
Yann Weymouth of global architectural firm Hellmuth Obata + Kassabaum (HOK). The new Frost Museum
includes nine galleries and 9,000 square feet of gallery space.
“This may be the most exciting time in The Frost’s impressive history,” Damian said. “As we open a new
chapter, I am thrilled to be leading this institution that has meant so much to me and to this community for so
long.”
Meanwhile, the university continues its search for a permanent director amidst deepening statewide budget
cuts and a competitive national job market for qualified museum directors. Damian will succeed acting
director Melissa S. Levine, former associate director of The Wolfsonian, who is relocating to Michigan.
“The university remains committed to finding the best person to lead The Frost,” Damian said. “However, in
the interim, the museum, its programs and exhibitions must continue to meet and even exceed the high
standards set over the years.”
One of Miami’s most dynamic art institutions, The Frost ultimately helped establish Miami’s place as a
beacon for art and art education in the Southeast. The Museum was founded in 1977 as a small student
gallery. In the 1980’s Director Emerita Dahlia Morgan brought to the museum artistically daring, critically
acclaimed exhibitions and artists, establishing the museum as a leader in the Miami arts community.
The museum’s permanent collection includes more than 6,000 works of art including the Coral Gables
Metropolitan Museum & Art Center Collection, the Betty Laird Perry Emerging Artist Collection and the Oscar
B. Cintas Fellows Collection.
An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, The Frost provides art education for all ages, offering engaging,
innovative programs including Art Smart for 5th grade students, guided tours of its Sculpture Park and
lectures by renowned artists and luminaries through its Steven & Dorothea Green Critics Lecture Series and
Latin American & Caribbean Art Lecture Series.
Damian is a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., she received her MA in Pre-Columbian Art and
her PH.D in Latin American History from the University of Miami. A specialist in Latin American and
Caribbean Art, Damian teaches classes in Pre-Columbian, Colonial, Spanish and Contemporary Latin
American Art, Modern Art surveys and Women in Art at FIU.
She is the author of The Virgin of the Andes: Art and Ritual in Colonial Cuzco (Grassfield Press, 1995) and is
the Miami correspondent for Art Nexus and Arte al Dia. She lectures frequently on Latin American and
Caribbean art and has curated numerous exhibitions.
VISITING THE FROST
The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum
Florida International University
10975 S.W. 17th Street
Miami, FL, 33199
Admission is Free
HOURS
Tuesday-Saturday: 10am - 5pm
Sunday: noon – 5pm
Museum Office:
Monday-Friday
9am-5pm
Sculpture Park:
24 hours a day, seven days a week, provided that the Florida International University campus is open.
For more info, visit: http://thefrost.fiu.edu/index.htm
Copyright © & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing these sourcs.
New FROST Art Museum Opens in Miami's Florida International University
Housed on the University Park campus of Florida
International University, The Patricia & Phillip Frost
Art Museum (formerly The Art Museum at FIU)
opened in 1977. Initially a small gallery of less than
3000 square feet, the Museum grew to achieve
local, national and international recognition as
one of South Florida’s key cultural institutions. The
Frost Art Museum’s extraordinary programmatic
growth during the 1980s and 1990s, qualified the
Museum for designation as a Major Cultural
Institution by both the State of Florida and Miami-Dade
County. Grants from both sources, complimented by endowments, membership and private and corporate
giving, provide stable funding for annual programs. In 1999, the Museum received accreditation from the
American Associations of Museums (AAM) and in 2001 became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
Following the groundbreaking for its new facilities in 2003, the Art Museum at FIU was officially renamed The
Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. The Frost Art Museum also became a unit under the new College. The
museum gained a respected reputation for its innovative exhibitions, outstanding lecture series and
educational outreach programs for South Florida’s diverse audiences. Through generous support from
private donations as well as state and local government agencies, the Frost Art Museum is able to offer free
admission to all exhibitions and public events.
The Museum’s growing collection has several notable donations of important groups of work. In 1989, the
FIU leadership and the board of the Metropolitan Museum and Art Center in Coral Gables, ensured the intact
survival of this important collection by transferring its ownership to the Frost Art Museum when the private
museum closed.
Student and faculty exhibitions, an important component of the Museum's academic function, present the
work of artists who have achieved significant state and national recognition, including NEA, MacArthur,
Guggenheim and Florida Visual Artist Fellowships. The Betty Laird Perry Emerging Artist Collection was
established with work acquired through the Betty Laird Perry Purchase Award which is granted to selected
BFA and MFA students graduating from the FIU programs in visual arts.
The Frost Art Museum has recently begun to present exhibitions in Latin America and is working on future
collaborations and partnerships with leading art institutions in these regions. These efforts to foster cultural,
educational, and artistic exchanges compliment Florida International University’s commitment to its ever-
growing international audiences.
The Frost Art Museum complements its exhibitions with a wide range of regionally unique and nationally
recognized educational programs. The Steven and Dorothea Green Critics' Lecture Series and the Latin
American & Caribbean Art
Lecture Series directly connect South Florida's
audiences with important artists, critics and
art historians living today. The Wednesday
After-Hours programming is designed to
complement the Museum’s exhibitions and
give visitors the chance to engage with the
contemporary and confront the controversial
via gallery talks, films, live music and
performance art.
Long limited by space, the Frost Art Museum’s
innovative exhibitions and broad range of
educational programs are unparalleled in their
quality and the diversity of audiences they
serve. With the transition to the new 46,000 sq. ft. museum facility in 2008, the Frost Art Museum will have
the opportunity to better serve the University and the South Florida community. Reaffirming its commitment to
the excellence of its collections, exhibitions and educational programs, the Frost Art Museum will continue to
broaden its base of support and serve an increasingly larger and more diverse constituency.
MISSION
The mission of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University is to enrich and
educate local, national and international audiences through the language of art by collecting, preserving,
researching, interpreting and exhibiting art from diverse cultures throughout human history.
The Frost Art Museum, located within a large urban institution, provides an exceptional resource for scholarly
research and interdisciplinary collaboration, augmenting the university’s educational mission as both a local
and global center of knowledge and culture.
The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University envisions itself as:
A cultural beacon for South Florida, with its exhibitions and public programs integrated into the life of the
community as inextricably as its schools, recreational facilities and theaters
A dynamic, research-oriented university visual arts institution that is a center for interdisciplinary training.
NEW BUILDING
The new Frost Art Museum was designed by internationally recognized architect Yann Weymouth of Hellmuth
Obata + Kassabaum (HOK). The 46,000-square foot facility is due to open in 2008.
The structure features a soaring three-story glass atrium entrance and a dramatically suspended staircase
leading to the second and third floors containing over 9,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space. Three of the nine
galleries will be dedicated to the permanent collection, while the remaining six galleries will feature
temporary exhibitions. Among various interior design highlights is the prominent use of natural daylight in
the galleries. Large “leaves” or “petals” are constructed to diffuse ultraviolet by preferentially scattering light to
the walls. This unique gallery lighting was designed by ArupLighting.
Ample storage room for the collection in the new building will allow proper space for conservation, research
and preparation of artwork. On the ground floor the Kenan-Flagler Family Discovery Gallery and Museum
Terrace will serve as the heart of the Museum’s educational and community outreach. Also on the first level
visitors will find the Steven & Dorothea Green Multi-Purpose Auditorium and Lecture Hall, the Dahlia Morgan
Members’ Lounge, the café and museum shop.
The realization of a first-class facility provides increased accessibility to the visual arts to FIU's multicultural
student body, the growing local population and Miami’s visitors. The new museum is destined to become the
cultural heart of the campus and an essential part of Miami’s growing arts community. On its tranquil
lakeside site, the new building frames the "Avenue of the Arts." Accentuated by selected works from the
Museum’s outdoor sculpture collection, the Avenue of the Arts connects the Museum, the Wertheim
Performing Arts Center and the Management and Advanced Research Center (MARC) on the University Park
campus.
UPDATES
Nationally Recognized Miami Art Historian and Curator Carol Damian to Head The Frost Art Museum at FIU.
Carol Damian, professor and former chairperson of FIU’s College of Art and Art History, has been named
interim director of The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum located on the University Park Campus. Damian, a
long respected member of Miami’s arts community, has served as curator of The Museum’s permanent
collection since 2006.
“Dr. Damian has proven to be a dynamic leader who combines scholarly experience, leadership skills and a
passion for the arts,” said FIU Provost and Executive Vice President Ronald M. Berkman. “She is well-
positioned to take over the helm …”
Damian was tapped by Berkman to head The Frost as it gears up for the scheduled November opening of its
spectacular new home -- the 46,000-square-foot building designed by internationally acclaimed architect
Yann Weymouth of global architectural firm Hellmuth Obata + Kassabaum (HOK). The new Frost Museum
includes nine galleries and 9,000 square feet of gallery space.
“This may be the most exciting time in The Frost’s impressive history,” Damian said. “As we open a new
chapter, I am thrilled to be leading this institution that has meant so much to me and to this community for so
long.”
Meanwhile, the university continues its search for a permanent director amidst deepening statewide budget
cuts and a competitive national job market for qualified museum directors. Damian will succeed acting
director Melissa S. Levine, former associate director of The Wolfsonian, who is relocating to Michigan.
“The university remains committed to finding the best person to lead The Frost,” Damian said. “However, in
the interim, the museum, its programs and exhibitions must continue to meet and even exceed the high
standards set over the years.”
One of Miami’s most dynamic art institutions, The Frost ultimately helped establish Miami’s place as a
beacon for art and art education in the Southeast. The Museum was founded in 1977 as a small student
gallery. In the 1980’s Director Emerita Dahlia Morgan brought to the museum artistically daring, critically
acclaimed exhibitions and artists, establishing the museum as a leader in the Miami arts community.
The museum’s permanent collection includes more than 6,000 works of art including the Coral Gables
Metropolitan Museum & Art Center Collection, the Betty Laird Perry Emerging Artist Collection and the Oscar
B. Cintas Fellows Collection.
An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, The Frost provides art education for all ages, offering engaging,
innovative programs including Art Smart for 5th grade students, guided tours of its Sculpture Park and
lectures by renowned artists and luminaries through its Steven & Dorothea Green Critics Lecture Series and
Latin American & Caribbean Art Lecture Series.
Damian is a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., she received her MA in Pre-Columbian Art and
her PH.D in Latin American History from the University of Miami. A specialist in Latin American and
Caribbean Art, Damian teaches classes in Pre-Columbian, Colonial, Spanish and Contemporary Latin
American Art, Modern Art surveys and Women in Art at FIU.
She is the author of The Virgin of the Andes: Art and Ritual in Colonial Cuzco (Grassfield Press, 1995) and is
the Miami correspondent for Art Nexus and Arte al Dia. She lectures frequently on Latin American and
Caribbean art and has curated numerous exhibitions.
VISITING THE FROST
The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum
Florida International University
10975 S.W. 17th Street
Miami, FL, 33199
Admission is Free
HOURS
Tuesday-Saturday: 10am - 5pm
Sunday: noon – 5pm
Museum Office:
Monday-Friday
9am-5pm
Sculpture Park:
24 hours a day, seven days a week, provided that the Florida International University campus is open.
For more info, visit: http://thefrost.fiu.edu/index.htm
Copyright © & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing these sourcs.
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