Our Story

A Museum Built On Biscayne Bay

Since 1987, ArtiVista has gathered the art of the Americas and the wider world along Miami's waterfront — a place where tropical light, migration and memory shape everything on the walls.

Why We Opened

Founded For A Growing City

ArtiVista began as a single donated gallery on the edge of downtown, assembled by a group of collectors who believed Miami deserved a civic home for the visual arts. Four decades later the museum spans five permanent wings and a changing calendar of exhibitions, welcoming more than half a million visitors each year. Our purpose has not shifted: to make great art freely encountered by the people who live here and the travelers who pass through.

Sunlit atrium of the ArtiVista museum with visitors on the main stair — The bayside atrium, completed in the 2009 expansion.

What We Keep

The Collection At A Glance

The permanent collection holds works spanning three centuries, with particular depth in Caribbean modernism, Latin American photography and contemporary art of the global South. We acquire with intention rather than volume, and we lend widely, so that the holdings travel to institutions far beyond Florida.

12,400works
In The Permanent Collection: 5wings
Of Gallery Space: 39years
Open To The Public

How We Build It

Curating With The Community

Our curators work alongside artists, scholars and neighborhood advisory groups to decide what enters the building. Exhibitions are shaped by research trips, archival study and long conversations with the makers themselves. We believe a museum is answerable to the city it stands in, and that accountability runs through every label, loan and acquisition we approve.

A naturally lit gallery wing hung with large contemporary paintings — The Caribbean modernism wing on the second floor.

Learning Here

Programs For Every Age

Beyond the galleries, ArtiVista runs school partnerships, teen fellowships, studio workshops and free evening talks. Thousands of Miami-Dade students visit on class trips each year, and our education team designs materials in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole so that families can explore in the language they speak at home.

Looking Forward

Where The Museum Is Headed

The years ahead will bring a new outdoor sculpture terrace, expanded conservation labs and a digital archive that opens our holdings to anyone with a connection. We remain committed to free admission on the first Sunday of every month, and to keeping the museum a shared and welcoming part of Miami's public life.