Wolfsonian-FIU and Frost Art Museum take part in Miami Museum Month

May is Miami Museum Month. Members of The Wolfsonian-FIU and the Frost Art Museum can visit participating cultural institutions for free during the month-long celebration.

By Sissi Aguila

The Wolfsonian-FIU and the Frost Art Museum are among 15 Miami-Dade museums participating in Miami Museum Month in May. The program allows members of a single museum to visit all participating institutions during the entire month for free. Organizers hope to encourage the public to experience Miami’s cultural scene and sign-up for a membership in the process.

Museum month was started by The Wolfsonian-FIU in 2007 to promote greater awareness of all local museums. The community immediately embraced the initiative making it an annual event. This year the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau stepped in to promote it on a greater scale.  

“We ran it for the first couple of years. But as the event grew, it clearly became too much for one institution to handle on its own,” said Cathy Leff, director of the Wolfsonian-FIU. “With the help of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, this can become a South Florida institution.”

On view at The Wolfsonian-FIU during the month-long celebration are “Art and Design in the Modern Age: Selections from The Wolfsonian Collection ,” an installation that provides insight into the ways design has influenced and adapted to the modern world with nearly 300 works from The Wolfsonian’s collection; “American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow,” a fresh appraisal of the aesthetic of streamlined design with 150 examples of furniture, ceramics, metalwork, plastics, graphic design, and archival design books; and “Streamlined: From Airplanes to Architecture,” a selection that highlights the popularity in the 1930s of integrating streamlined shapes and curves into products and buildings that had no need to be aerodynamic.

The Frost Art Museum is currently showing “Genetic Portraits,” an exhibit that explores the mysteries of DNA through art by internationally-known artist Nela Ochoa; “Because I Say So,” sculptures that will provoke that answer to the question, “Is that Art?” from The Scholl Collection; and “Wake,” a series of works produced by BFA students at FIU’s School of Art & Art History.

“Museums are incredible places to reflect on our culture and the culture of others,” Leff said. “FIU has two wonderful museums, The Wolfsonian and the Frost Art Museum, which can enrich the lives of students, faculty and staff.”

For FIU students, faculty and staff, admission to both museums is free.

Membership to the Frost Art Museum costs $35 and the university community receives a 25 percent discount on popular or dual/family membership to The Wolfsonian-FIU.  

Other Miami Month Museum participating institutions include The Haitian Heritage Museum, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami Science Museum, and Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Visit www.miamimuseummonth.com for a complete listing of participants, happenings and sponsors.