Arts & Entertainment

Detroit Institute of Arts Thanks Metro Area Voters for 'Regional' Support

The 2012 approval of a millage to help support the museum "was an amazing statement on regionalism," DIA chief operating officer Annmarie Erickson said recently, despite many area communities, like Shelby Township, rejecting the measure.

Regionalism was the word of the day recently when the Detroit Institute of Arts announced which suburban communities would host Inside|Out installations this spring and summer.

Shelby Township and Utica were among the 25 communities selected to host reproductions of the museum's masterpieces as part of the 2013 program, which will be the first since a millage to help support the DIA was passed in August.

Voters in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties approved a tax of 0.2 mills for the next 10 years to help cover the museum's operating costs. In return, tri-county residents will receive free admission to the DIA for the next decade.

Find out what's happening in Shelby-Uticawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Incidentally, the millage failed by 588 votes in Shelby Township, but passed by 64 votes in Utica. While the millage helps support day-to-day operations, museum fundraisers will work to build a sustainable endowment.

"I cannot tell you what an important and critical vote that was," DIA chief operating officer Annmarie Erickson said Feb. 8 as the 2013 Inside|Out communities were announced in the museum's Crystal Ballroom. "Your help really did an amazingly critical thing for the DIA.

Find out what's happening in Shelby-Uticawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It also was an amazing statement on regionalism," she added. "This kind of back and forth is going to be essential to moving forward in southeast Michigan."

The Inside|Out program is funded through a partnership with the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, one of whose goals is to foster the arts.

“We’re very excited and we really appreciate being part of the program,” said Utica Mayor Jackie Noonan. "I applaud the program. It’s marvelous that a great resource like the institute is reaching out to the communities.”

Utica will host the following works of art:

  • "Fire in a Haystack," Jules Adolphe Aime Louis Breton
  • "Gladioli," Claude Monet
  • "The Trapper's Return," George Caleb Bingham
  • "A Woman," Modigliani
  • "Cotapaxi," Frederic Edwin Church

The installations' exact locations have yet to be determined. Shelby Township's works and locations have not been announced.

"Like" the DIA Inside|Out page on Facebook or follow @DIADetroit #InsideOut on Twitter for updates on the program.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here