The Pérez Art Museum Miami’s (PAMM) Eighth Annual Corporate Luncheon, presented by South Motors Automotive Group and Starr Events, was a who’s who of over 250 business and community leaders. Everyone who is anyone was at the stellar afternoon of art and networking with excellent cuisine by Starr. PAMM Corporate Honors was awarded to the legacy of Kirk Landon, in recognition of his passion for education, and all funds from the luncheon was donated to PAMM’s education program as a memorial gift in his name. His foundation, the Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation, benefitted a long list of South Florida’s nonprofit organizations, including schools, universities, and arts groups. The afternoon also spotlighted three of South Florida’s top corporate collections, BNY Mellon, Greenberg Traurig and Bacardi, and in the spirit of corporate philanthropy, BNY Mellon announced an exciting gift of art to the museum’s permanent collection. The painting, Mel Bochner’s Dead Reckoning, was on view nearly 30 years ago at the Center for Fine Arts, PAMM’s predecessor, during the travelling exhibition Mel Bochner: 1973-1985. This year’s lunch reception allowed attendees to network, browse the museum and enjoy a film highlighting corporations with local art collections, like BNY Mellon, Greenberg Traurig and Bacardi. A video was shown that explored each corporation’s unique history with art collecting and the significance of corporate art collections.
Kirk Landon, who passed away this year at age 85, was a chairman of the American Bankers Insurance Group in Southwest Miami-Dade. Landon was an incredibly active philanthropist in the South Florida community and left an indelible mark on the institutions and people he touched through his generosity. While Landon donated to numerous health institutions, arts groups and charitable organizations, he was deeply passionate about education and supported a number of schools and youth centers throughout the community. He donated millions of dollars to Florida International University, Barry University, the University of Miami’s School of Nursing, and raised funds for The Children’s Trust and the South Dade YMCA. Landon received many awards for his work in the community, including the Miami Transplant Institution’s Humanitarian Award and the Chapman Partnership’s Alvah H Chapman, Jr. Humanitarian Award.
ABOUT THE LUNCHEON: The PAMM Corporate Luncheon raises funds for the museum’s education programs. PAMM is the largest provider of art education outside of Miami-Dade County Schools, reaching nearly 87,000 children since opening in December 2013. Corporate support has made many of these crucial free programs possible, which include: free family activities every second Saturday; Brick x Brick, a program for at-risk teens which takes place at community centers in under-served areas throughout Miami-Dade, and focuses on architecture, design and community planning; PAMM in the Neighborhood, a summer camp program for under-served youth and more.
PHOTOS: DAISY OLIVERA; WORLD RED EYE