Event Raised $185,000 to Support Advancing Women’s Representation in the Arts.
Photo: WorldRedEye.com.
(MIAMI, FL — October 16, 2026) — On Wednesday, October 14, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) hosted its annual International Women’s Committee (IWC) Luncheon with Premier Sponsorship from Arison Arts Foundation, Valery Hodes Lodato and Anthony S. Hodes, and The Related Group; Supporting Sponsorship from Deborah Bricker; and Champion Sponsorship from Astrid Burns Art Consulting, Carol Damian, Shawn M. Donnelley and Christopher M. Kelly, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Northern Trust, Sotheby’s, and The Americas Collection | Ortiz-Gurdian Family. The celebration honored María C. Bechily for her longstanding dedication to the arts, philanthropy, and Miami’s cultural community.
The luncheon brought together more than 250 guests across art, business, fashion, and philanthropy and raised over $185,000 to support the IWC’s mission of advancing women’s representation in the arts.
Images available for download here.
Credits: Photos by WorldRedEye.com
Hosted by the IWC Steering Committee—which is chaired by Darlene Boytell-Pérez and includes Trixie Belo-Osagie, Carol Damian, Mireille Chancy Gonzalez, Jill Ginsberg, Alexandra Lane, Kristina Newman-Scott, Tish Squillaro, and Mindy Solomon—the program included warm remarks made by Franklin Sirmans, Sandra and Tony Tamer Director, and Darlene Boytell-Pérez, IWC committee chair. PAMM Associate Curator Maritza M. Lacayo, Chief Curator Jose Carlos Díaz, and Curator Jennifer Inacio also showcased the women-led exhibitions for 2027.
During the luncheon, members voted on which PAMM exhibition led by a woman artist the committee will support in the upcoming year. The IWC is excited to announce that the 2027 IWC-selected exhibition will be a solo presentation by artist Laura Krifka, featuring an entirely new body of work that explores domestic spaces. The exhibition will transform the gallery into one of Krifka’s signature interiors, enveloping visitors and an intimate atmosphere defined by mystery and low light.
ABOUT MARÍA C. BECHILY
María C. Bechily is a philanthropist, communications pioneer, arts advocate, and community leader. Born in Matanzas, Cuba, she came to the United States at age 12 through Operation Pedro Pan. She spent two years in foster homes in the Chicago suburbs before reuniting with her family, an experience that shaped her lifelong commitment to service.
Bechily earned degrees from Loyola University Chicago and the University of Chicago. She later founded one of Chicago’s first public relations firms devoted to multicultural and Spanish-language communications, helping major companies, nonprofits, and public institutions connect with Latino communities. She also hosted a Spanish-language television program on Univision Chicago. Her civic leadership has included work with the Northwestern Memorial Foundation, Goodman Theatre, and The Chicago Community Trust, where she co-founded Nuestro Futuro, now the nation’s largest Latino affinity fund dedicated to philanthropy.
After moving to Miami in 2014, Bechily became deeply involved in the city’s arts community. She joined the Board of Trustees of Pérez Art Museum Miami, where she has chaired the Development Committee and an ad hoc Endowment Committee. She also serves on the boards of ArtesMiami, Locust Projects, Women Photographers International Archive, and the Dora Maar Cultural Center. An avid collector alongside her husband, Scott, Bechily has built a collection reflecting her Latin American heritage and enduring belief in art’s ability to strengthen communities.
ABOUT PAMM
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), led by Franklin Sirmans, Sandra and Tony Tamer Director, promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture, and design, and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas. The 42-year-old South Florida institution, formerly known as Miami Art Museum (MAM), opened a new building, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, on December 4, 2013, in Downtown Miami’s Maurice A. Ferré Park. The facility is a state-of-the-art model for sustainable museum design and progressive programming and features 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor program space with flexible galleries; shaded outdoor verandas; a waterfront restaurant and bar; a museum shop; and an education center with a library, media lab, and classroom spaces.
