The Miami Art Museum is a relatively young institution, having been around now for only about a decade. But things seem to be moving at a quicker and, shall we say, bolder pace over there, especially with the New York Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) former chief curator of architecture and design Terence Riley now at the helm. MAM’s small collection seems to be growing efficiently, given the institution’s imminent relocation to a new, expanded 125,000-square-foot facility by Biscayne Bay in 2010, one that is being designed by the prestigious Basel-based architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron. (In November 2004, Miami-Dade County voters approved a bond that includes $100 million for the construction of the museum building in Bicentennial.)

So adding MAC’s forward-thinking programming to the mix could be a potential boon to the caliber of exhibitions and all-around agenda at the Miami Art Museum. That’s at least the general idea.

Currently based in a 1940s structure in South Miami redesigned by Italian architect Alessandro Fiorentino, Miami Art Central has made quite a distinction as an alternative, more avant-garde space hosting a number of successful exhibitions, especially ones exploring compelling statements in photography and video, such as the William Kentridge show, the Video: An Art, a History, 1965-2005 survey (which featured Tony Oursler videos projected on dolls placed sporadically throughout the two-floor exhibition space), and Snap Judgements: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography.

Even more, MAC has regularly produced an engaging multidisciplinary cultural program of films, lectures and concerts.

Back in 2002, Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, a Venezuelan investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, founded the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO), the nonprofit that funded MAC and which now has its own permanent venue highlighting works by its grantees and commissioned artists, as well as pieces from her personal collection. The Miami Art Central itself then opened in 2003. The building, located at 5960 SW 57th Ave., has 20,000 square feet of exhibition space. In the near future, however, it will only be used for Fontanals-Cisneros’ private collection (with visits by appointment only) and a contemporary art library open to art students in the community. All the MAC shows will soon be produced at MAM — hence “MAC@MAM.”

It is all well and good that our municipal art museum gets a boost in resources and programming, but while there are other museums, a healthy number of galleries and notable private collections, the vision that has been fostered by MAC is still particularly singular and all its own. And ultimately, more individual spaces – and also more choices in exhibitions, programs and events – may be better than fewer.

Largely because the MAC program will be moving out of its headquarters to incorporate into the Miami Art Museum, there has been some agitation in the local art community. More so, following a panel at Locust Projects at the beginning of February, an open letter was sent out through e-mail and spread virally, gathering nearly 200 signatures, including several local artists (Vickie Pierre, Natalia Benedetti, Carlos Betancourt), art collectors (Rosa de la Cruz) and gallerists (Fred and Kathy Snitzer, as well as Carol Jazzar).

“We would like to express our deep concern over the prospect that the internationally distinguished exhibitions and programs developed at MAC may be compromised as a result of the merger of the two institutions,” the letter states. “Our community has benefited enormously from the scope and quality of MAC’s acclaimed exhibitions and educational programs.… Over the past three years, the program at MAC has consistently been at the forefront of art museums in Miami and, with the end of exhibitions and related programming at MAC’s Red Road facilities scheduled for late April, we foresee a serious vacuum that could undermine our city’s reputation as a burgeoning center for the visual arts.”

Gean Moreno, an artist who signed the letter and a programming advisor at Locust, is skeptical about the merger, mainly because things are still rather unclear. “I think it would be a tragedy if the MAC stopped really being the MAC,” he says. “Part of the problem is that there’s an ambiguity about this deal. They just say ‘MAC@MAM’ and that it’s fantastic, but a lot of questions are left out there floating.”

He adds, “MAC’s kind of programming is very specific — more conceptually based, sometimes politically motivated — and what they do is [unmatched] by any other institution [in Miami].”

MAM’s Townsend emphasizes nonetheless that the people at both museums are working together to make sure this will succeed. “We want to add to the cultural dialogue here, not diminish it,” he says. “Ella quite wisely recognized that sometimes you can make a greater impact collaborating or pooling one’s resources. This is a natural alliance, a complementary relationship where one can help the other.”

Terence Riley, the director of the Miami Art Museum, was not available for an interview, but he issued a general statement, noting that he wants “to ensure that MAC’s legacy is not only maintained, but strengthened with the combined resources of both MAC and MAM.”

Several attempts were made to get in touch with Fontanals-Cisneros, but she couldn’t be reached directly since she was reportedly in Europe. However, in a recent letter, she expounded, albeit briefly and somewhat vaguely, on the benefits of the merger:

“In its brief three-year history, MAC has worked hard to earn the admiration of audiences locally and internationally for its exhibitions, lectures, film series, concerts, publications and more, all dedicated to exploring contemporary art and ideas,” she wrote. “Through this partnership, the excellent contemporary art program established at MAC will be appreciated by broader audiences and, eventually, presented in relation to MAM’s other exhibitions and in the context of the museum’s growing permanent collection.

“It is the strength of MAC’s programming that led to this important partnership, and the resulting entity will accomplish more than either organization could achieve on its own.… In the coming weeks and months, I will be working with leadership from both organizations to further articulate the details of the collaboration and we pledge to keep you informed.”

Townsend adds that several MAC employees were offered “situations” — from employment to consulting — at MAM, while others were transferred to CIFO as well as to Fontanals-Cisneros’ EFC Holdings company.

While both MAC and MAM promise more information as time passes, several key points are left in the air, such as whether or not the MAC program will have its own space within the new Miami Art Museum building or if MAC’s currently powerful presence might weaken after it leaves its Red Road headquarters. P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center and MoMA in New York became affiliates in January 2000 — collaborating on programming and feeding off each other’s resources — yet P.S.1 still produces exhibitions, various programs and events at its own space in Queens. That won’t be the case with the Miami Art Central.

One thing’s for sure, though — this merger can only reinforce the Miami Art Museum’s role in the art community and may be the needed push to make MAM a more vital entity. 

“I would like to see the merger support a more complex collection with shows that rotate more often, as well as some of the new spaces being set aside for new work and more experimental ‘project rooms,’” Cooper, a local artist and co-founder of Locust Projects, wrote in an e-mail to the SunPost. “I see this as having the potential to be a great leap for both institutions. I think the merger could fill holes in both programs, and with the right management and community support, the new combined institution could become a world-class organization.”