25 Apr The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation Launches 2023 CreARTE Open Call

For the Program’s Third Iteration, Foundation to Award Over $3.5 Million to Cultural Organizations Supporting and Enhancing Miami-Dade County’s Artistic Ecosystem

MIAMI (April 11, 2023) – The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation (the Pérez Family Foundation) is pleased to launch the third edition of the Pérez CreARTE Grants Program (Pérez CreARTE), awarding over $3.5 million to organizations across Miami-Dade County that seek to cultivate a vibrant, connected, and culturally stimulating arts ecosystem. With two-year grants ranging from $100,000 to $250,000, the 2023 program will focus on three main areas: Arts Access, Arts Education, and Artist Fellowships and Residencies. Applications open on Tuesday, April 11, with winners announced in the fall. Eligible organizations may apply here.

“Art is a powerful tool – it allows artists to not only communicate personal emotions and ideas, but also inspire entire communities. The importance of this dynamic cannot be understated, especially as our city and region go through tremendous change,” said Jorge M. Pérez, founder Related Group and internationally recognized philanthropist and founder ofthe Pérez Family Foundation.“We’re firm believers that art feeds the soul, ultimately benefiting the entire community in a unique way. CreARTE has made such a profound impact over the past four years, and we’re honored to continue our efforts toward making Miami-Dade a global hub for artistic excellence.”

The Pérez Family Foundation’s financial investment in CreARTE has grown immensely since its inception, with $2 million distributed as part of the inaugural program in 2019 and another $3.2 million distributed in 2021. The program has since awarded over $6.3 million to 30 unique organizations across Miami-Dade County, enabling these organizations to reach more than 400,000 individuals through grant-supported programming.

The third edition of CreARTE will seek to fill key areas that impact the creative community most, including access to affordable workspaces, cultural equity, and education. The grants will be awarded to organizations whose missions align with one of three main focus areas:

• Arts Access: Funding to support meaningful and diverse public engagement with, and access to, various forms of high-quality art across Greater Miami and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.
• Arts Education: Funding to support high-performing, innovative organizations in Greater Miami working to ensure that all young people have equitable access to arts education opportunities. This area aims to invest in the most effective, scalable, multidisciplinary arts education programs, in school and out of school, as well as pre-professional training programs that prepare future artists in a variety of disciplines.
• Artist Fellowships and Residencies: Funding to support the creation and/or expansion of artist fellowship and residency programs to expand local options for artistic professionals to hone their talents and showcase their work.

After receiving hundreds of applications for the 2021 program, the Pérez Family Foundation distributed $3.2 million across 25 organizations. Current grantees include Bakehouse Art Complex, which used its most recent $200,000 grant to support the Bakehouse Art Complex Studio Residency program; Community Justice Project, which used its $150,000 grant to expand its social justice-focused artist-in-residence program; Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI), which used its $100,000 grant to fortify and expand its existing Miami Artist-in-Residence program for emerging artists from the Latin and Caribbean Diasporas; GableStage, which used its $150,000 grant to grow its educational department with pivotal new hires; and HistoryMiami Museum, which used its $100,000 grant to launch a fellowship program for local documentary photographers in concert with an accompanying educational program component for youth. The full list of grant recipients can be found here.

The CreARTE grants program is made possible through a unique partnership between the Pérez Family Foundation and The Miami Foundation, a pillar of the local nonprofit community that currently manages close to $445 million in philanthropic funds.