Meet Rebecca Fishman Lipsey: President and CEO of The Miami Foundation, A Beneficiary of Access by Art Basel

November 30, 2023

We sat down with Rebecca to learn more about the work of The Miami Foundation, and discover how she thinks Access by Art Basel, powered by Arcual, can help shape a stronger Miami.

Social innovator and former policymaker Rebecca Fishman Lipsey is the President and CEO of The Miami Foundation, a $400+MM community foundation focused on building a stronger, more equitable Greater Miami, and one of the beneficiaries of the first Access by Art Basel sale during Art Basel Miami Beach.

Rebecca, what inspires you to work in philanthropy?

This is the best way I know how to leave a legacy in my lifetime. I want to help shape what my great city becomes.

 

How do you believe the arts contribute to and help shape Miami?

The arts wake us up. They tell our hard truths. They heal. Miami is a city built by immigrants, refugees, and dreamers where we speak 128 languages in our homes. Art is the one universal language we all speak -  and we use it across all lines of difference, to somehow build a community where everyone can thrive.

 

What is your favourite thing about the Art Basel Miami Beach fair?

Art Basel Miami Beach is so playful and magnetic, and it draws a global audience. I love seeing participants getting out into our community, shopping in local stores, eating in local cafes, fuelling our local economy. Come enjoy Miami and leave it better than you found it.

Tell us more about the Miami Foundation's vision for the future of the great city?

We are building the most generous city in the world, where everyone feels a sense of shared responsibility and co-ownership for the future of our place. Our Foundation exists to help people get involved, find their cause, and give of themselves. We focus on lifting up the most pressing issues facing our community, and fueling solutions. We want to see everyone who lives, works, and plays in Miami getting involved and giving back.

 

The three Collective Impact funds Access by Art Basel will benefit include: Arts Access, LGBTQ+ Equity, and Racial Equity. How important is the work of these funds in shaping a more resilient Greater Miami?

We want every child who lives in Miami to have access to the arts. It’s so powerful to see Art Basel Miami Beach – this incredible magnet for creativity and arts in our community – is now helping make that possible. We also recognize the profound ways minority and LGBTQ artists have shaped (and continue to shape) the field, and we view this as a unique opportunity to honor their profound contributions by inviting people to give back toward arts access, racial equity, and LGBTQ equity here in Miami.

Learn more about The Miami Foundation.


Pictured: Rebecca Fishman Lipsey. Image courtesy The Miami Foundation.


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