Curators from the Pérez Art Museum Miami (Pamm) picked up a new work for their permanent collection at the New Art Dealers Alliance (Nada) fair in Miami on Thursday, opting to acquire a canvas by the Jamaican artist and film-maker Simon Benjamin from the stand of Brooklyn’s Swivel Gallery.
The mixed-media work, Crown and Anchor I (2024), features an arched image of a diver picking an anchor off a sandy, sun-dappled sea bottom. Jennifer Inacio and Maritza Lacayo, curators at Pamm, say the acquisition reflects the museum’s “dedication to amplifying Caribbean voices and narratives”.
For Benjamin, too, the work’s new home is fitting. “My first visit to Pamm was in 2017 to see Jamaican painter John Dunkley’s Neither Day nor Night retrospective,” he says. “Seeing work I knew well from Jamaica reframed in a globally interconnected context made a deep impression on me. I remember hoping that one day, my work would be exhibited at Pamm.”
It is the seventh work acquired for the museum’s permanent collection via the Nada Acquisition Gift for Pamm programme. “This collaboration is pivotal in connecting our galleries and their artists with the vibrant art scene in Miami and simultaneously supporting the South Florida community,” says Heather Hubbs, Nada’s executive director.
