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About the Broward Center for the Performing Arts

OUR MISSION

The Broward Center builds community through the arts by delivering quality entertainment, educational opportunities and memorable moments that engage and inspire audiences, nurture collaboration and drive economic vitality.

OUR GOALS

  • Provide world-class entertainment to South Florida audiences.
  • Inspire students to achieve their full academic potential by integrating the performing arts in the teaching process.
  • Ensure that the underserved, at risk and special needs populations can experience the power of the performing arts.
  • Create a more vibrant cultural community by promoting local artists and helping them become professional providers of cultural content.
  • Contribute to the social fabric of the community by generating understanding and respect through the universal language of the arts.

OUR HISTORY

The Broward Center opened its doors in 1991 with the premiere performance of the first Broadway touring production of The Phantom of the Opera. "Phantom" ran for three months to launch the Broward Center's inaugural year and the Center has been one of the top Broadway roadhouses in the country ever since.

Today, the Broward Center is a world-class, multi-theater complex which has earned an international reputation for presenting world-class performances, serving an increasingly diverse audience base, and broadening the connection between South Florida's cultural organizations and the region's business and philanthropic community. The Center consistently is ranked the #1 venue in Florida and one of the top 10 venues in the world in attendance for theaters its size.

ENTERTAINMENT | EDUCATION | ENGAGEMENT

Entertainment
From the best of Broadway to award-winning local and international cultural programming spanning all performing arts genres, including South Florida's own Miami City Ballet, Florida Grand Opera, Symphony of the Americas, Gold Coast Jazz Society, Slow Burn Theatre Company and South Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Broward Center presents more than 800 events to more than 600,000 individuals each year and contributes more than $165 million annually in local economic impact.

Education
The Broward Center has had a far-reaching impact on the community through a wide variety of educational programs and outreach activities that have served more than 3.6 million students and made the arts more accessible for South Florida's diverse audiences. In partnership with Broward County Public Schools, the Center developed the largest free arts-in-education program in the country —Student Enrichment Through the Arts – and made it a model for the nation.

Engagement
A leader in improving access to the arts for people with disabilities, the Broward Center was a founding member of the Florida Coalition for Access to the Arts; the first performing arts center in Florida to offer Audio Description for blind or low-vision patrons; and the first in Broward to introduce sensory-inclusive performances for individuals with developmental disabilities. In 2021, the Broward Center turned its attention to how the arts can help address issues of racial equity by launching Arts for Action: Black Voices, an ongoing series of performances and events that aim to elevate Black artists and bring diverse segments of the community together for social change.

VENUE MANAGEMENT

Beyond its stunning campus that anchors the cultural district in Fort Lauderdale, Broward Center leverages its infrastructure and expertise to the benefit of the South Florida community through a robust affiliated venue management program which includes the iconic Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, the Rose & Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center on the campus of Nova Southeastern University, and the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center in Miami-Dade County. The Broward Center has managed Parker Playhouse since 2005, and in 2021, restored the theater with a $30 million capital campaign which also renamed it, The Parker.

BROWARD PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION

Established in 1985 to deliver the required private funding to build the Broward Center and create an endowment to sustain its operations, the Broward Performing Arts Foundation has successfully raised funds to support the Broward Center's innovative and diverse programming, arts-in-education initiatives, community engagement activities and capital projects, including the $60 million Encore! campaign to renovate, renew and revitalize the Broward Center and the $30 million Parker campaign to renovate and restore the iconic Parker Playhouse (now known as The Parker).

OVATION SOCIETY

Individuals who confirm that they have made planned gift arrangements that include the Broward Performing Arts Foundation are recognized in the Ovation Society. If you want more information or if you have already included the Foundation or the Broward Center in your estate plans, please contact us.

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