The woman who pioneered the Art Hotel concept with Miami Beach’s Sagamore hotel, Cricket Taplin, will be honored Wednesday, September 28th at the Ninth Annual Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) Corporate Luncheon. She, and her late husband Martin Taplin, were one of the first to explore the connection between art and hospitality. During the time they owned the Sagamore, one of Miami Beach’s iconic Art Deco hotels, From 1997-2016 they displayed their extensive contemporary art collection in the public spaces of the hotel, often commissioned hotel-specfic installations with artists like Spencer Tunick.
“When Marty and I bought the hotel there was no business plan,” explains Taplin. “The whole art hotel happened very organically. It was ahead of its time and opened the world of art to a larger audience. We discovered that exhibiting our collection throughout the public spaces allowed people to interact with contemporary art in less intimidating ways than those formalized by museums and traditional exhibition spaces. Our hotel guests and visitors loved the fact that the pieces on display were part of a personal collection as opposed to a corporate acquired one. There was a positive effect on the visitors and the community. The choice to make the collection part of a public conversation was born from my belief that art has the ability to change people’s lives.”
PAMM’s new director, Franklin Sirmans, said “Cricket’s passion and generosity has made her a staple in Miami’s evolving arts scene and philanthropic community.” PAMM Corporate Honors will be awarded to Cricket Taplin and the Sol Taplin Charitable Foundation, The Foundation generously donates to a variety of organizations that benefit education programs, homeless shelters, medical institutions, non-profits among others, and museums including PAMM. All funds from the Luncheon will be donated to the museum’s art and education outreach programs.
Still, Taplin is shy and self-effacing. “I don’t think I deserve it yet. There are so many other things I want to do, but I’m grateful,” she says.
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 more than 130,000 children since opening in December of 2013. Corporate support has helped finance a lot of the free programs offered by the museum.
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