As Art Basel kicks off this year in Miami Beach, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) director Franklin Sirmans reflected on the last 10 years at the helm of the institution in an interview with the New York Times.

Though PAMM has remained steady, with the help of Sirmans’ leadership and the museum’s primary patron Jorge M. Pérez, many institutions have faced tremendous hardship and losses over the last decade.

“We have proved to be the people’s museum in Miami, in a place that has been much more well known for its private collections,” Sirmans told the Times.