Members are at the heart of Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). Today, we’re featuring Ignacio (Iggy) and Jean who have roots in Miami—Iggy has called the county home since 1972 and Jean moved here as a young adult in 1990. They are founding members of PAMM, which means that they have supported the museum since 2014!

What drew you to PAMM?
We both started visiting when it was still the Miami Art Museum (MAM), and it was the only place in town to see great contemporary artwork. Now, PAMM continues to be a resource for Miami’s artists and overall community in providing culture.

What do you do?
We are artists with an artist-run space in the Bird Road Art District (Warehouse 4726). Our day jobs are art teacher and arts marketing/non-profit administrator. We are really good at problem solving and community building—we share whatever skills, knowledge, and experiences we have with our community of artists to help them on their own paths to creating a practice. (Editor’s note: want to contact Jean and Iggy for their expertise? Email members@pamm.org with subject line “Dear Jean and Iggy” and we’ll connect you!)

Why do you feel art is important, especially in Miami?
We’ve been creative since the beginning of time. Art allows us the ability to be creative; it is intrinsic to our very being and an essential part of who we are.

What do you envision for PAMM in the future?
We see PAMM as a connector of people across all walks of life and we hope that it becomes a place where creativity and spirituality come together as part of community building—answering the hard questions of who we are as human beings.

What is a phrase or mantra that you live by?
There is a value to everyone.

Want to be featured in a future PAMM Member Profile? Email members@pamm.org.