Miami’s flagship art museum is getting into streaming.
Pérez Art Museum Miami launched PAMMTV, a “first-of-its-kind” streaming service of the museum’s collection of video art and films, with 15 works from local and international artists. The free service is available on web browsers, mobile devices and Apple TV. (Users need to create a free account to watch content.)
The museum is celebrating PAMMTV’s launch Thursday evening with a screening of South Florida films and video art featured on the platform. Visitors can enjoy free museum entry and watch the videos displayed on a 60-foot floating screen in the bay.
The foray into streaming is part of PAMM’s push to engage with audiences digitally while highlighting artists, said Jay Mollica, the PAMM Director of Digital Engagement. Last year, PAMM launched “New Realities,” the museum’s virtual augmented reality gallery of commissioned artworks.
“One of the main thrusts of our strategy is to turn the museum inside out and democratize access to the collection,” said Mollica.
While the museum’s entire video art collection won’t be available on PAMMTV at once, the streaming platform will update with a smattering of video art every few months to give viewers “a slice into the collection,” Mollica said.
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“We’re fusing the user experience of Netflix with the intimacy of a museum gallery,” he said.
Alongside selections from guest curators and film festivals, PAMMTV features work by boundary pushing artists from South Florida, the Caribbean, Latin America and the African diaspora, who are “often left out of the history books,” said program manager Lauren Monzón. The inaugural selection of video art available on PAMMTV includes pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, works from South Florida and films curated by Third Horizon Film Festival. Films include I Saved My Belly Dancer, directed by Youssef Nabil and starring Salma Hayek, and Conga Irreversible by Los Carpinteros.
“The goal there is really to showcase our dynamic media ecosystem across the global south,” Monzón said. “In a lot of ways, that functions in tandem with our mission to be a leader in the presentation, preservation, interpretation and care of international art that reflects our location as the crossroads of the Americas.”
The launch party event will include live music by Suzi Analogue and Adobe Deejay, activations by local poetry organization O, Miami and screenings of lauded works by South Florida artists.
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There’s Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I by Monica Sorelle, a meditative film of women dancing, praying and working. CARMEN by Cristine Brache, which won the Made in Miami award at this year’s Miami Film Festival, is a haunting short film on how domestic violence affects mother-daughter relationships. And From Fish to Moon by Kevin Contento, a documentary film about a small supermarket in the Florida backwoods, is making a splash in the film festival circuit, Monzón said.
“I’m really excited about inverting that pilgrimage model for viewing art within the walls of museums and for people to be able to have access to worldclass video art wherever they are,” Monzón said.
PAMMTV LAUNCH EVENT
When: Sept. 14, 5 - 10 p.m.
Where: Bayfront terrace of Pérez Art Museum Miami; 1103 Biscayne Blvd, Miami,
Info: Free and open to the public. Free museum entry with event RSVP. https://www.pamm.org/en/event/pamm-tv-launch-event/
This story was produced with financial support from The Pérez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
