Miami is a cultural epicenter of the US—and this is good news for meetings and incentives groups.
If you’re planning a meeting in Miami, here’s an array of cultural venues and experiences to consider.
Little Havana
The heart of Hispanic culture in Miami, Little Havana is a vibrant area dotted with Latin-inspired experiences. Calle Ocho, or Eighth Street, was established by Miami’s Cuban diaspora and is the colorful hot spot for hyperlocal experiences. Groups can experience Cuban history in a multitude of ways here, from storefronts playing soca music and local art to Cuban coffee and croquetas on every corner. Los Pinarenos Fruteria is the oldest open-air market in Miami, while Azucar, Calle Ocho’s resident Cuban artisanal ice cream parlor, serves more than 100 flavors inspired by tropical Cuban fruits. Miami’s first chocolate factory, Exquisito Chocolates, creates custom truffles that are tailored to your event’s color palette or branding. Cigar aficionados will delight in the daily hand-rolled cigars of El Titan de Bronze, a female-owned Cuban cigar shop. Each cigar roller honed their craft in Cuba and thus specializes in a specific variety. Top all of this off with a stroll through Maximo Gomez Domino Park, where seasoned professionals can teach attendees a thing or two about the game and life.
Perez Art Museum Miami
Located in Downtown Miami’s Museum Park along Biscayne Bay, Perez Art Museum Miami features international art of the 20th and 21st centuries and 200,000 sf of indoor-outdoor space. Groups can experience guided art tours and lectures, and enjoy cocktails or receptions in outdoor plazas with lush hanging gardens or meet indoors in a variety of modern yet nature-inspired settings. The museum offers waterfront dining with Verde restaurant and events are catered by the food stylings of the Constellation Culinary Group.
Institute of Contemporary Art
Dedicated to the experimental contemporary art of local, emerging and under-recognized artists, the exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art make for eye-catching event backdrops. ICA Miami’s sculpture garden, special exhibitions, and ground-floor galleries are dedicated to the thematic group and monographic exhibitions of international artists. This summer, groups can experience seminars led by visiting faculty such as geologist Katherine Yussoff, art historian and theorist Emily Scott, and artist and activist Carolina Caycedo.
New World Center
One of the most sought-after concert venues in Miami, the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center in Miami Beach offers advanced technology, education, music, video and lighting, as well as the possibility of collaboration with the New World Symphony. The Performance Hall, with its array of seating configurations like full-seat retraction, mechanical stage lifts and ancillary performance platforms, has room for 756 seated attendees; 1,200 with full retraction. The venue’s projection sails float overhead, creating an immersive, near-360 degree panoramic video experience for attendees. With stunning views of Miami Beach from Biscayne Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, the Rooftop Garden is another highly coveted spot for receptions and high-end dinners. The Atrium, with its cascading geometric shapes and vaulted ceiling, ushers in six stories of natural light into the space, perfect for brainstorming sessions.
Frost Museum of Science
Overlooking Biscayne Bay, one of the only global institutions featuring a planetarium and cutting-edge, 500,000-gallon aquarium, the 250,000-sf Frost Museum of Science is an inspiring option for events that need to impress. The six-floor museum plunges attendees into an ocean experience of different depths—surface to subaquatic. The Frost Planetarium’s visual system is just as colorful, displaying 16 million colors through 3D capable projectors, while the angle of the 250-seat auditorium creates a near-360 degree deep-dive under the sea.
Regardless of whether they are meeting in Miami for a meeting, convention or incentive experience, groups will find an abundance of cultural venues and experiences to make their visit a memorable one.
