'A historic gift'

by Jake Cline

The province of universities and symphony orchestras, endowed chairs are typically awarded to accomplished faculty members and musicians. Receiving one can be a big deal for a physics professor and a bassoon player alike, and endowed chairs are proudly listed in most classical-music concert programs. They have seldom, if ever, been associated with performing arts centers.

Last month, the Adrienne Arsht Center announced the creation of the first endowed chair of its kind in the United States. In recognition of his decade-plus tenure overseeing the Center’s education and community programming, vice president Jairo Ontiveros was awarded the Dorothea Green Chair of Education and Community Engagement. Backed by a $2.5 million contribution from the Miami-based Green Family Foundation Trust, the endowed chair supports Arsht Center programs such as Accessing the Arts, I am Me, Jazz Roots Sound Check, Arsht on the Road and Free Gospel Sundays.

“This is a historic gift,” Arsht Center Trust Board chair Richard C. Milstein said at an April 26 ceremony attended by community leaders, Arsht Center staffers and board members, donors and members of the Green family — Dorothea Green; her husband, Ambassador Steven J. Green; and their daughter Dr. Kimberly Green.

“The Green Family Foundation has championed life-affirming, life-changing arts experiences for countless individuals,” said Arsht Center CEO and president Johann Zietsman, noting that the foundation’s relationship with the Center began more than 10 years ago, when it funded Haitian dance troupe Ayikodans’ first performance in Miami. Zietsman said the $2.5 million gift includes a component in which the foundation will match up to $2 million in community donations.

“When you have programs as meaningful and impactful as the Arsht Center’s, it’s important to ensure that they continue,” said Dr. Kimberly Green, who serves on the Arsht Center Foundation’s board of directors. “Our gift to the Center’s endowment and our matching challenge to the community ensures their longevity.”

Onstage in the Ziff Ballet Opera House’s Dorothea Green Theater, Ontiveros was presented with an upholstered, pine-and-plywood chair designed by Diana Eusebio and Daniel Ochoa. In a statement, the artists said the chair’s design was inspired by Ontiveros’ Mexican and Peruvian roots and “the invaluable guidance and support he received from women throughout his life and career.”

Ontiveros told the audience that the Green Family Foundation Trust’s gift would allow the Arsht Center to “support more local artists, amplify diverse voices and champion the creation of new works.” The importance of the endowed chair, he added, will resonate far beyond Miami.

“This appointment signals a powerful paradigm shift to our industry, across the globe and across the country, one where the practice and pedagogy of education and community engagement is recognized as vital to the collective good of our community and our children,” Ontiveros said. “It marks the start of a new way of giving and recognizes the role that performing arts centers should serve — more than just entertainment hubs and more as civic anchors that address community needs through the transformational might of the performing arts.”

In a statement, Adrienne Arsht, founding chairman of the Adrienne Arsht Center Foundation, praised the Green Family Foundation Trust for its gift. “I am delighted that my vision for philanthropy in support of the Arsht Center is carried on by other leaders in the community who share my belief in the transformative power of the performing arts,” Arsht said. “The Green family has a long history of supporting the Arsht Center and many cultural causes throughout Miami. I am thrilled that through their generosity and vision they can ensure enhanced and sustained access to the arts for generations to come."  

(Top: Johann Zietsman, Dr. Kimberly Green, Jairo Ontiveros, Ambassador Steven J. Green and Dorothea Green announced the creation of the Dorothea Green Chair of Education and Community Engagement during an April 26 ceremony at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Photo by WorldRedEye.com.)