City of Coral Gables to match the grant, creating an investment of over half a million dollars in the Museum’s facilities, including Fewell Gallery.
CORAL GABLES, FL — Coral Gables Museum is pleased to announce that the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has approved a $250,000 grant for capital improvements, including upgrades to the Carole A. Fewell Gallery. The City of Coral Gables has also provided a matching contribution, bringing the total commitment to over half a million dollars. In response, Carole A. Fewell has also donated $25,000 to support the project.
The award marks an important step in the Museum’s ongoing effort to strengthen the infrastructure behind its exhibitions, collections, educational programs, and public events. The planned improvements will enhance conditions within its galleries and better serve visitors, artists, scholars, and community partners.
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The Carole A. Fewell Gallery, one of the Museum’s principal exhibition spaces, plays a central role in its exhibition program. The capital improvement project includes replacing its flooring, installing a state-of-the-art security system, upgrading the HVAC system, adding an impact door, and building a fireproof vault for the Museum’s Permanent Collection.
“As Coral Gables Museum enters its sixteenth anniversary with more ambitious exhibitions and programs, our facilities must support that growth. We owe it to our constituents to be an institution worthy of the architectural, artistic, and cultural legacies that we preserve and interpret, and this investment brings us closer to that goal,” said Wayne ‘Chip’ Withers, Chair of the Board of Directors of Coral Gables Museum.
The Knight Foundation grant underscores its new strategic priority in grantmaking policies, emphasizing the importance of investing in institutional resiliency as non-profits face challenges from economic uncertainty and cuts to general support grants.
“Cultural institutions are part of the civic infrastructure that makes communities vibrant and connected, and that infrastructure needs to be built to last. This investment in the Coral Gables Museum is about strengthening the foundation that allows it to serve artists, audiences and the broader community for years to come. We’re especially pleased to partner with the City of Coral Gables in making that long-term investment possible”, said Kristina Newman-Scott, Vice President for Arts at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Mayor Vince Lago said, “We are committed to help the Coral Gables Museum’s leadership in their efforts to make this beloved institution into a world-class museum, and we are grateful for the timely and significant support of the Knight Foundation.”
The Museum also announced a $10,000 contribution from John and Pam Admire (Admire Sullivan Admire) toward the renovation of the Robert and Eleanor Zahner Center for Education. A bequest from the Zahners established the Museum’s first-ever endowment for education last year. The Center is used for educational exhibitions, Family Day programs, festivals, workshops, and community-based projects. Most recently, it held a special exhibition of the World’s Oldest Football from Scotland, on the occasion of the FIFA World Cup.
“We are looking for ways to grow our educational endowment, expand our membership base and deepen our community footprint, as a way to consolidate the Museum’s growth for years to come,” said Elvis Fuentes, Executive Director of Coral Gables Museum. “We invite all Coral Gables and Miami-Dade residents, enthusiasts of the civic arts, urban and architectural history, and public art to join us in this effort as we approach our Sweet 16!”
