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 Museum of Art is a cool place in Miami Beach, Florida, where you can see amazing contemporary art. It first opened its doors in 1964. It's a great spot to explore modern art and learn about different artists.
Contents
History
Early years
John Bass and Johanna Redlich were a couple from Vienna, Austria, who lived in Miami Beach. John Bass loved collecting art and cultural items. In 1963, they gave more than 500 artworks to the City of Miami Beach. This included old paintings, textiles, and sculptures. They wanted a museum to be open to everyone forever.
The museum opened on April 7, 1964. At that time, it was the only art gallery run by the city in South Florida. The city spent $160,000 to fix up the building, which used to be the Miami Beach Public Library. John Bass helped run the museum until he passed away in 1978.
Later, in 1973, the Miami Beach City Council closed the museum for a short time. This happened after some questions were raised about how old some of the paintings in the Bass collection really were.
Expansion
In 1980, an art expert named Diane Camber became the museum's Executive Director. For the next 30 years, she worked hard to make the museum better. She helped it get official recognition and raised money to make the building bigger. This helped the museum become a very important cultural place.
Big changes happened in 2001. A new part of the museum, designed by Arata Isozaki, opened in 2002. This added about 1,600 square meters (16,000 square feet) of space.
In 2013, The Bass announced it would get $7.5 million from Miami Beach for another big expansion. The museum closed for construction in May 2015 and reopened on October 29, 2017. This $12 million expansion, designed by David Gauld, made the museum almost 50 percent bigger. It added four new galleries, about 4,100 square feet (380 square meters) of space. As part of these changes, the museum changed its name to simply "The Bass."
In 2022, The Bass received $20.1 million from the city. This money will be used to add a new wing to the museum. This new part will give even more space for exhibitions.
Exhibitions
The Bass often shows exciting art exhibitions. In 2003, for example, it featured an exhibition called US DESIGN, 1975–2000. This show looked at the work of American designers from the late 20th century.
Since 2009, Silvia Karman Cubiñá has been the Executive Director and Chief Curator. Under her leadership, The Bass has shown many interesting exhibitions, including:
- Where Do We Go From Here? Selections from la Coleccion Jumex (2009)
- Isaac Julien: Creative Caribbean Network (2010)
- Erwin Wurm: Beauty Business (2011)
- 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 (2017–2018)
- Mika Rottenberg (2017–2018)
- Pascale Marthine Tayou, Beautiful (2017–2018)
- Nam June Paik, The Miami Years (2023 - 2024)
Collection
The Bass has a permanent collection of artworks that it owns. These pieces are shown alongside new, international contemporary art exhibitions. The museum's collection includes:
- European paintings and sculptures from the 15th century to today.
- Textiles, tapestries, and religious items from the 7th to 20th centuries.
- Art from North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean from the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Photographs, prints, and drawings.
- Modern and contemporary architecture and design, especially from Miami Beach's past.
The museum has a special area called the "Open Storage" gallery. Here, you can see parts of the museum's permanent collection. Artists are sometimes invited to create new projects that connect with these older artworks.
In 2016, The Bass started a ten-year plan to add more international contemporary art to its collection. As part of this plan, they bought two public artworks: Miami Mountain (2016) by Ugo Rondinone and Eternity Now (2015) by Sylvie Fleury. In 2017, they also bought Petrified Petrol Pump (Pemex II) (2011) by Allora & Calzadilla.
Education
In 2017, the museum opened its Creativity Center. This is the biggest art museum education space in Miami-Dade. It has three classrooms and other areas for programs for people of all ages. It's a great place to learn about art and get creative!
Management
Finances
The Bass has a yearly budget of about $4.5 million. It is a non-profit organization. This means it uses all its money to run the museum and its programs, not to make a profit.
Leadership
Since 2009, Silvia Karman Cubiñá has been the Executive Director and Chief Curator of The Bass. She helps decide which art to show and how the museum is run. George Lindemann Jr. became the President of the Board of Directors in 2009. The board members help guide the museum and make important decisions.
See also
In Spanish: Museo Bass para niños
