Ella Fontanals-Cisneros is a philanthropist and entrepreneur with an abiding passion and discerning eye for contemporary art and design. Born in Cuba and raised in Venezuela, she is a true internationalist whose generosity, vision and dynamism have made a significant impact on the Miami arts community and on arts organizations around the globe.
Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros began collecting works by artists from Latin America in 1970. The Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection has since grown to include important and cutting-edge pieces by risk-taking artists from around the world, with strong representations of geometric abstract art from Latin America, international installation and video art, and photography.
Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros splits her time between residences in Caracas, Miami, Madrid, Naples, and Gstaad, Switzerland. A true citizen of the world, she brings an international perspective to her patronage, her collection, and the two dynamic nonprofit institutions she established in Miami - Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (cifo) and Miami Art Central (MAC).
Founded in 2002, the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (cifo) fosters understanding and appreciation of contemporary artists from Latin America through grants, commissions, exhibitions, and bilingual publications. cifo focuses on three primary initiatives: Grants and Commissions Programs for emerging and mid-career visul artists from Latin America; an exhibitions program showcasing work by Latin American artists and international contemporary art from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection in the state-of-the-art CIFO Art Space; and foundation-initiated support for other arts and culture projects.
Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros further enriched the Miami arts community in 2003 by founding Miami Art Central (MAC). In its brief three-year history, MAC brought important international art to Miami, including video art from the Centre Pompidou, and a solo show of South African artist William Kentridge, among others. In December 2006, Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros made the forward-looking decision to fuse MAC with the Miami Art Museum (MAM) to stregthen the museum's contemporary programming. A MAM trustee since 2003, Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros hopes to inspire other collectors and civic leaders in South Florida to join her in transforming the Miami Art Museum into one of the nations' great art museums.
Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros is also an active humanitarian and environmentalist. An early advocate for the use of information technologies, in 1990 she founded the Together Foundation in the U.S., which led the effort to connect the United Nations with its field offices around the world in order to share information on environmental best practices. This system remains as a fundamental tool for UN-Habitat program. In the mid-1990s, she also founded the Together Foundation in Venezuela to improve the lives of children providing education, health and nutrition.
In addtion to serving as Chair of cifo and MAC, Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros serves on the boards of trustees of the MAM, the American Patrons of the Tate, the Cintas Foundation, the United States Artist and the International Women's Forum. She recieved the Spectrum Philanthropy Award from the American Red Cross in 2003, the Visionary Award from The Museum of Arts & Design in 2007, celebrating exceptional culturally engaged corporate executives as well as artists and designer, and the United Nations' Women Together Award in May 2008, recognizing her dedication to the promotion of art and education in and from Latin America, among other awards.
An intrepid entrepreneur, Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros is also involved in the development of luxury homes and frequently collaborates with architects and designers to create stunning domestic spaces. She is also involved in telecommunications, industrial glass and sugar industries in Venezuela.
Ms. Fontanals-Cisneros is the mother of three daughters, Marisa, Mariela, and Claudia, with her former husband Oswaldo Cisneros. She actively shares her passion for the arts with the next generation, encouraging her daughters to participate in activities at cifo and in the development of her personal collection.
