FIA
TO ADD FOUR GALLERIES WITH C.S. MOTT FOUNDATION GRANT
For projected images of the additional
galleries, click here.
FLINT, Mich. – The Flint Institute of Arts
(FIA) will add four public galleries and additional art handling facilities,
thanks to a $7.15-million grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation announced
today.
The new galleries, to be located on the building’s east side, will total
nearly 10,000 square feet, increasing by almost 50 percent the space available
for displaying art. Other planned additions, on the museum’s south side,
are an enclosed receiving dock, climate-controlled storage for artworks on loan,
a secured art preparation area and an auxiliary storage vault.
“The lifeblood of any museum is its ability to display objects that attract, instruct and inspire visitors of all ages and backgrounds,” said William S. White, Foundation president.
“We believe this expansion will further strengthen the FIA’s role as a cultural and educational resource for the greater Flint community. It already is one of Flint’s real treasures, and we are pleased to help the FIA move forward into the 21st century and beyond.”
The grant was made to the Flint Cultural Center Foundation, a support organization of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, which holds and administers funds targeting the Cultural Center campus. It brings the Foundation’s 2005 funding of Flint area organizations to $18.2 million as of the end of October.
This expansion at the FIA—already under way and
expected to be completed in 2006—realizes cost savings because it builds
on a first phase, which was launched in 2002 and completed this year. That phase
included the construction of a new, lobby, multi purpose room, a café,
gift shop, and renovations to nine instructional studios, ten collection galleries,
the building's façade and additional parking.
Mott gave more than $4.5 million in 2003 toward the first phase and for endowment
and general operating support.
“Access to art and art education is vital to the future of the greater
Flint community,” said John B. Henry III, FIA director. “By expanding
our facilities, we’re expanding our capacity to provide those programs
and services, and this grant will help us realize that goal.”
The new galleries will allow the FIA to exhibit nearly twice the number of works
previously displayed. Galleries will be dedicated to the Institute's extensive
European and American collection including fine examples of Impressionism, post
impressionism, modernism and contemporary art; the Inlander Collection, featuring
art and artists of the Great Lakes area; and the Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler
Garbisch Collection of America Naïve Paintings.
For 77 years, FIA has been a prime destination for art and art education in
the Flint area. It currently serves 100,000 individuals annually and maintains
partnerships with school districts throughout Genesee County. This increased
outreach has helped build a regional audience, which includes student groups
and patrons from Genesee, Lapeer, Ingham, Oakland, Shiawassee and Tuscola counties.
The C.S. Mott Foundation, established in 1926 in Flint, is a private philanthropy
committed to supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable
society. It supports nonprofit programs throughout the U.S. and, on a limited
geographic basis, internationally. Grantmaking is focused in four programs:
Civil Society, Environment, Flint Area and Pathways Out of Poverty. The Foundation,
with year-end total assets of $2.52 billion, made 558 grants totaling $98.7
million in 2004.
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