Rubell Museum facts for kids
| Former name | Rubell Family Collection |
|---|---|
| Established | 1993 |
| Location | Miami, Florida, and Washington, D.C. |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collections | Contemporary art |
| Collection size | 7400 |
| Founder | Don and Mera Rubell |
| Architect | Selldorf Architects (Miami) Beyer Blinder Belle (Washington, D.C.) |
The Rubell Museum is a special art museum. It used to be called the Rubell Family Collection. This museum shows modern art and has two locations. One is in the Allapattah area of Miami, Florida. The other is in the Southwest Waterfront area of Washington, D.C..
The museum first opened to the public in 1993. It was started by Mera and Don Rubell. They are art collectors from Miami. They have helped Miami become a big place for modern art. The museum moved to a much bigger building in Miami in 2019. Then, a second museum opened in Washington, D.C., in 2022.
Contents
The Rubell Museum Story
How the Rubell Museum Started
Don and Mera Rubell got married in 1964. They began collecting art while living in New York City. They saved money each month from Mera's teaching job to buy art. Don was studying to become a doctor at the time.
Later, Don's brother, Steve Rubell, passed away. He left Don and Mera a large amount of money. This helped them buy even more art and show it to others. They also invested in hotels in South Florida to help pay for their art collection.
The First Museum: Wynwood (1993-2019)
In 1993, the Rubells opened their art collection to the public. It was called the Rubell Family Collection. It was in a building in the Wynwood area of Miami. This building used to be a government office.
Having the collection in Wynwood helped the area grow. Other art galleries and businesses moved there later. The Rubell family also helped convince Art Basel to have an art fair in Miami. This fair is now known as Art Basel Miami Beach. The original museum building was updated in 2004. Juan Roselione-Valadez became the director of the Miami museum in 2010.
New Miami Home: Allapattah (2019-Present)
In 2019, the museum moved from Wynwood to a new spot. This new location is in the Allapattah area. When it moved, it was renamed the Rubell Museum. The new building is made of six old industrial buildings.
Selldorf Architects redesigned these buildings. The new museum has 40 galleries. It has 100,000 square feet of space to show art. It also has a library, a restaurant, a performance area, and a bookstore. The museum first bought the new site for storage. But its large size inspired them to make it a bigger museum for the public. The museum paid for this expansion by selling its old building in Wynwood.
Rubell Museum in Washington, D.C. (2022-Present)
In 2022, the Rubell Museum opened a second location. This new museum is in Washington, D.C.. It is inside the old Randall Junior High School building. This building is in the Southwest Waterfront area. It is less than a mile south of the National Mall.
The Rubells bought this historic school building in 2010. They hired Beyer Blinder Belle to fix it up for the new museum. They also worked with Lowe to build apartments behind the museum. Caitlin Berry became the director of the D.C. museum in August 2022. The D.C. museum opened in October 2022. It is free for people who live in Washington. It has 32,000 square feet of gallery space and a bookstore.
Caitlin Berry left the D.C. museum in early 2024. Juan Roselione-Valadez said the museum plans to stay in Washington for a very long time. He said, "We plan on being there for at least 100 years."
Art Collection and Programs
The Rubell Museum has more than 7,400 pieces of art. These works are by over 1,000 different artists. Don and Mera Rubell are known for how carefully they choose art. They often visit artists' studios and talk with them for months or even years.
The collection is known for having many artworks by African American, Latin American, and Asian artists. The Rubells are also known for buying art from new artists early on. Many of these artists later became very famous.
The museum's collection includes art by many modern artists. Some of these artists are Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Yayoi Kusama, and Kehinde Wiley.
Since 2011, the museum has a special program for artists. It is called an artist residency program. It is one of the best programs like it in the country. Artists like Sterling Ruby and Amoako Boafo have been part of this program.
In 2024, the Rubell Museum worked with theater director Michel Hausmann. They created "The Museum Plays" with the Miami New Drama theater company. This was a special theater experience. Short plays were performed next to specific artworks in the museum. This helped visitors connect with the art in a new way. Playwrights wrote these plays inspired by works from artists like Glenn Ligon and Kehinde Wiley. This project showed how different types of art can work together. It also made visiting the museum more exciting.
Art Exhibitions
The Rubell Museum has put on many art shows. Many of these shows have traveled to other museums across the country.
In 2011, the museum's show called 30 Americans started touring. It first went to the North Carolina Museum of Art. 30 Americans features art by African-American artists from the museum's collection. This show has visited over a dozen museums and was still touring in 2022.
The first exhibition at the D.C. museum was called What's Going On (2022). This show honored Marvin Gaye. He had attended the old school building where the museum is now located.
