Detroit Institute of Arts Is a Rare Gem in a City That Has Struggled in a Generation
By
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20.05.2015 12:00
The Michigan Historical Society is looking to turn its basement and storage facility into a world-class facility for preserving objects from local history and is currently trying to secure $150,000 for a grant application.
The Michigan Historical Society is looking to turn its basement and storage facility into a world-class facility for preserving objects from local history and is currently trying to secure $150,000 for a grant application.
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a unique institution with a rich history of collecting, preservation and art appreciation. Located in Midtown Detroit, the DIA is perhaps one of the most unique and exciting museums you will ever visit.
DIA was founded in 1917 as a private, museum on the third floor of a department store by John and Carrie Gassman. The first collection consisted of works of art from the collections of family members until a major donation of art arrived at the DIA in 1950, which was then expanded to include American paintings, sculpture, drawings, photography, and Native American art.
By the year 2000, the DIA was expanding collection of the arts into the American Modernism and early 20th century and began to be known for its collection of African American history, but in 2010, DIA announced it was closing its collection due to the loss of the institution’s senior director David C. Miro. Later that year, Miro told the Detroit Free Press that DIA “was losing its soul, as the institution was in the hands of too many greedy people and was no longer a true center for preserving American art.”
“I think that when the institution finally dies and the next generation takes over, that the institution will have a new life,” Miro continued. “It will be more of a community center that can bring people and communities together to experience our collection, and that’s what I was trying to do.”
DIA reopened a few years after Miro’s death in 2010 and, as the museum has grown, it has become a true treasure trove for anyone interested in American and African history. The museum is home to over 600 works of art spanning the 19th century, and currently has a collection of over 5,000 objects, from photographs and posters to