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A Vital Art Collection Saved

 

Amidst the many tragic events in the news these days, it’s always nice to remember that hopeful things are still happening too. Recently I stumbled upon this headline: “Detroit Exits Bankruptcy, Thanks to Its Art Museum.”

Earlier this year, I wrote a post about the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) and why spaces like it matter. At the time, the DIA’s world-renowned collection was being audited, toward possibly being auctioned off to help pay the city’s debts. Ultimately valued to be worth $4.6 billion, the prospect of selling at least a portion of the art collection must have seemed like a great idea to some; but many others argued it would be a major blow to the city’s cultural heritage and a significant loss for the community.

Thankfully, the DIA’s artwork appears to be safe now, thanks to a tenacious fundraising campaign that garnered more than $800 million and ultimately will, as The New York Times put it, “ransom the museum from city ownership”:

Within months, or possibly weeks, the institute’s officials said, ownership of its Beaux-Arts building and collection will be transferred to a trust. And with the approval in 2012 by three surrounding counties of a tax to help pay for operations, the museum is on its soundest financial footing in many years.

That doesn’t mean everything will be rosy for the DIA moving forward. This process has put a significant strain on the its support base, and only time will tell how necessary continued fundraising will pan out in the months to come. As Michigan’s art lovers breathe a sigh of relief (and perhaps wander Ordinary People by Extraordinary Artists: Works on Paper by Degas, Renoir, and Friends with an extra surge of appreciation), the museum’s leaders are already rolling up their sleeves in preparation for an exciting, but challenging, new chapter.