Tomorrow is Pérez Art Museum Miami’s (PAMM) Sixth Annual Art + Soul celebrating the Fund for African American Art. The night will kick-off with cocktail and dinner followed by a champagne toast and lively program with Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims as PAMM unveils the Ambassadors’ most recent art acquisition. The party continues with cocktails, canapés, and dancing under the stars set to the soundtrack of Jillionaire and A.Randolph and The Smash Room Project. Don’t have your tickets yet? There’s still time to purchase them here.

PAMM chatted with Art + Soul’s Honorary Chair, Sheldon Anderson, before the big night.

PAMM: How did you become involved with the museum?
Anderson: I have been involved with the museum since the time it was known as “MAM”. Today, PAMM is an important cultural institution that embraces the entire community and is a beacon for residents, visitors, and artists.

It is PAMM’s commitment to reflect the diversity of our local community. These generous gifts provide the museum an opportunity to continue to build our collection in ways that support this mission. Through the museum’s exhibition program, this community has been exposed to some incredibly powerful and important African American artists. What does the PAMM Fund for African American Art mean to you?
The Fund for African American Art is a transformative opportunity for Miami to reach out to artists of the African diaspora globally and communicate that we are interested in their work and that we will provide them with a voice, a platform and a market for excellence. Ultimately, successful artists have the opportunity to have their works purchased for PAMM’s permanent collection. The fund will also encourage artists to share their knowledge and experience with residents, other artists, and most importantly, to our students. The fund provides an opportunity for Miami to enhance its image as an important art center in this hemisphere.

Why is it important to be involved with an event like this?
I view the fund as an investment in our community and I encourage everyone to take advantage of an opportunity to build a collection of the African diaspora that will be viewed, appreciated, and expanded for generations to come.

What are you looking forward to most for this year’s Art + Soul?  
My hope is that the Art + Soul event will inspire more South Floridians to invest in this journey.