Bass Museum facts for kids
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The Bass Museum of Art front façade, January 2015
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| Established | 1963 |
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| Location | Miami Beach, Florida, United States |
| Type | Art museum |
| Public transit access | Metrobus, Collins Ave at 22 Street |
The Bass is a cool museum in Miami Beach, Florida. It shows modern art. The museum started in 1963 and first opened its doors in 1964.
Contents
History
How the Museum Started
John Bass (1891–1978) and Johanna Redlich were a couple from Vienna, Austria. They lived in Miami Beach. John Bass was a businessman, but he also loved art. He was a journalist, an artist, and even wrote music.
Mr. Bass collected many beautiful things. These included old paintings, fabrics, and sculptures. In 1963, he gave over 500 of these artworks to the City of Miami Beach. He wanted a museum to be open to everyone forever.
The museum opened on April 7, 1964. It was the only art gallery run by the city in South Florida at that time. The city spent money to make the building ready. It used to be the Miami Beach Public Library. John Bass led the museum until he passed away in 1978.
Growing Bigger
In 1980, an art expert named Diane Camber became the museum's director. This happened after some people wondered if certain artworks were real. The museum had even closed for a short time in 1973. It reopened in January 1980.
For the next 30 years, Diane Camber worked hard. She helped the museum get special recognition. She also created important art shows. She raised money to make the building larger. This helped the museum become a major cultural place.
The museum was updated in 2001. A big new part, designed by Arata Isozaki, opened in 2002.
In 2013, The Bass announced plans for another big change. The City of Miami Beach gave the museum $7.5 million. The museum closed for construction in May 2015. It reopened on October 29, 2017.
This $12 million expansion made the museum almost 50 percent larger. It added four new galleries. David Gauld designed this expansion. As part of this change, the museum dropped "Museum of Art" from its name. It is now simply "The Bass."
In 2022, The Bass received more money from the city. This money will help add a new part to the museum. This new wing will create even more space for art shows.
Exhibitions
The Bass often shows amazing art from around the world. In 2003, it had a show called US DESIGN, 1975–2000. This show looked at American design from the late 20th century.
Silvia Karman Cubiñá became the museum's director in 2009. Since then, The Bass has shown many exciting exhibitions, such as:
- Where Do We Go From Here? Selections from la Coleccion Jumex (2009)
- Isaac Julien: Creative Caribbean Network (2010)
- Erwin Wurm: Beauty Business (2011)
- The Endless Renaissance – Six Solo Artists Projects (2012)
- From Picasso to Koons: The Artist as Jeweler (2013)
- Piotr Uklański: ESL (2013)
- Vanitas: Fashion and Art (2014)
- Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui (2014)
- GOLD (2014)
- One Way: Peter Marino (2015)
- Ugo Rondinone, good evening beautiful blue (October 29, 2017 – March 25, 2018)
- Mika Rottenberg (December 7, 2017 – April 29, 2018)
- Pascale Marthine Tayou, Beautiful (October 29, 2017 – May 20, 2018)
- Laure Prouvost, They Are Waiting for You (April 27 – September 2, 2018)
- DESTE Fashion Collection, 1 to 8 (April 27 – September 2, 2018)
- Karen Rifas, Deceptive Constructions (May 24 – October 21, 2018)
- Nam June Paik, The Miami Years (October 4, 2023 – August 11, 2024)
Collection
The Bass has a special collection of art that it owns. This collection includes European paintings and sculptures from the 1400s to today. It also has textiles, tapestries, and religious items from the 600s to the 1900s.
The museum also collects modern art from North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. You can see photographs, prints, and drawings too. There is even a focus on the history of design in Miami Beach.
The "Open Storage" gallery is a special place. It shows parts of the museum's own collection. Artists are sometimes invited to add their own works to this space. This creates a conversation between old and new art. Pascale Marthine Tayou was the first artist to do this with his show Beautiful.
From August 2015 to July 2016, some artworks from The Bass were shown at the Lowe Art Museum. This show included paintings, enamel art, and textiles.
In September 2016, The Bass started a ten-year plan. The goal is to add more international modern art to its collection. As part of this plan, the museum bought two public artworks. These were Miami Mountain by Ugo Rondinone and Eternity Now by Sylvie Fleury. In August 2017, the museum bought its third major piece for this plan. It was Petrified Petrol Pump (Pemex II) by Allora & Calzadilla.
Education
In 2017, the museum opened its Creativity Center. This is the largest art education space in Miami-Dade. It has three classrooms and other areas. Here, people of all ages can take art classes and join programs.
Management
How The Bass is Run
The Bass has a yearly budget of about $4.5 million. It is a non-profit organization. This means it uses its money to support its mission, not to make a profit. The museum gets support from foundations and events like Art Basel Miami Beach.
Leaders of The Bass
In 2009, George Lindemann Jr. became the President of the Board of Directors. Silvia Karman Cubiñá was named the executive director.
Silvia Karman Cubiñá is still the Executive Director and Chief Curator of The Bass. The museum has a board of directors who help guide it. George Lindemann is the President of the board.
See also
In Spanish: Museo Bass para niños
