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No Wham! No Bam! Thank You, MAM”Maybe it's more news than the paper can digest"By Rob Jordan and JOANNE GREENPublished: October 5, 2006 No Wham! No Bam! Thank You, MAMFiled under: Culture * Miami Women's Club: Some kinda décor Miami Women's Club: Some kinda décor Subject(s): Casa Décor, Flying Trapeze School, MAM, Joe Arriola Local politicos sighed with relief this past week as years of delays, cost overruns, and questionable judgment calls came to an end with the raising of the curtain at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, north of downtown. While the $461 million center has stirred up all kinds of drama in recent years, another skyline-altering arts project has waited in the wings, quietly plotting its $208 million course. The Miami Art Museum's planned new home in Bicentennial Park will require $100 million in public funds and will likely redefine Miami's place in the cultural pantheon. Oddly it has attracted little attention. The recent selection of Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron as the museum's architects garnered eleven sentences in the Herald's briefs section. MAM director Terence Riley admits he has been surprised by the minimal coverage. Perhaps it's the result of a recent glut in arts-related stories. "Maybe it's more news than the paper can digest," he said. Although Miami's paper of record has poured lakes of ink over the performing arts center, its editorial page has mentioned plans for the new, 125,000-square-foot MAM a pathetic four times in the past five years, expressing an opinion — uniformly supportive — only twice. Riley understands the disparity, given that MAM has yet to break ground. He, too, has been impressed by PAC's computer-controlled acoustics and its "wonderfully democratic feel." Some have questioned whether that democratic feel will carry over to MAM's new building. Although the September 14 meeting at which MAM's board of trustees unanimously adopted Riley's architect recommendation was open to the public, little else about the process appeared so. Jean-François Lejeune, a University of Miami architecture professor, decried the lack of an open competition and a chance for public input along the way. Riley responded by saying that such competitions have the potential to be "disastrous" and that there's plenty of time for citizens to comment before MAM is slated to open in late 2010. Now Riley says he plans to exhibit some of the MAM architects' past work and to speak throughout the community about the plans. "Any group that is interested in this, I am more than willing to speak with them." However, Riley says, major issues such as site plans and size are set in the city's master plan. "This isn't going to be American Idol," he comments. — Rob Jordan