Miami Art Museum Launches Online Auction In Time for the Holidays

Auction Provides An Opportunity For Savvy Shoppers to Impact Miami's Cultural Future While Shopping Exclusive Items and Experiences

In anticipation of its annual fundraising gala, Miami Art Museum will launch its first-ever online silent auction at www.biddingforgood.com/miamiartmuseum. The auction will run Monday, November 8, 2010, just in time for holiday shopping, through Sunday, November 28, 2010 at midnight.

The online auction gives gala attendees a head start at bidding on exclusive items prior to the Miami Art Museum Ball. Those who cannot attend the Ball will also be able purchase items online through the “Buy It Now” option. Items not sold online will carry over to the Miami Art Museum Ball, Saturday, December 4, 2010 at the elegant Mandarin Oriental in Miami.

This year's event will give the community an opportunity to meet Miami Art Museum's new director, Thom Collins, while celebrating the groundbreaking of the Museum's new 120,000-square-foot facility in downtown Miami. Held annually since 1983, the Miami Art Museum Ball caps off Art Basel Miami Beach, and is attended by art collectors, artists and cultural leaders from all around the world. In addition to unique experiences designed exclusively for Miami Art Museum, shoppers may choose from a variety of affordable items such as tickets to sporting and entertainment events, fine dining packages and rare wines.

Featured specials include a Verdura cuff with 18k yellow gold, turquoise, pearls, and diamonds (value: $20,500), a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean aboard The Yachts of Seabourn (value: $15,500), and a spa day for six at Miami's new Parisian-inspired salon, Chez Badeaux (value: $1,200). The Miami Art Museum Ball is the Museum's main annual fundraiser. Proceeds from the event sustain Miami Art Museum's exhibitions and educational programming, which serves as the largest art program in Miami-Dade County outside of the public school system.

MAM & Schools presented by Target serves thousands of participants through Miami Art Museum's free program, which includes free buses to visit the museum, free guided museum tours for students and their teachers, free classroom visits, free support materials for teachers at Teacher Workshops, and more. To be a part of this year's Miami Art Museum Ball, please contact the special events department at 305.375.5935 or events@miamiartmuseum.org. Individual tickets start at $750, with tables ranging between $7,500 and $25,000. For more information on the event or auction, please visit www.miamiartmuseum.org.

About Miami Art Museum
Miami Art Museum, a modern and contemporary art museum located in downtown Miami is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting international art of the 20th and 21st centuries with an emphasis on the cultures of the Atlantic Rim—the Americas, Europe and Africa—from which the vast majority of Miami residents hail.

Miami Art Museum's educational programming currently reaches more than 30,000 people every year, with the largest art education program outside the Miami-Dade County public school system. The new Miami Art Museum at Museum Park, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, is scheduled to open to the public in 2013. The new facility will provide room to showcase growing collections, expanded exhibition space to bring more world-class exhibitions to Miami-Dade County, and an educational complex, which will be a resource for the entire community. For more information about Miami Art Museum, visit miamiartmuseum.org or call 305.375.3000.