Detroit Institute of Arts receives grants from William Davidson Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts to develop conceptual plan for museum’s front plaza Plan to envision front of the DIA as a public arts and community-gathering space
Updated Jul 27, 2015
July 27, 2017 (Detroit)—The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has received a $150,000 grant from the William Davidson Foundation and a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town program to support development of a conceptual plan that reimagines the DIA’s Woodward Avenue grounds as the cultural hub of Detroit. The vibrant new space will be designed to encourage pedestrian circulation and public gatherings and will support outdoor programs and exhibitions.
“We want to be a gathering place for everybody,” says Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA director. “Vital to this plan is a museum-wide push to engage in public dialogue, to talk with our neighbors and enlist their suggestions on how best to connect the museum grounds to our surrounding community.”
Creating a conceptual plan is the first phase of a three-part project. Following the completion of the conceptual plan, the DIA will begin raising additional funds to finance Phase 2, the development of architectural schematics for the town square’s exterior design, and Phase 3, breaking ground on an exterior capital project.
With support from the William Davidson Foundation and the NEA, the DIA will put together a team of local representatives, consultants and experts to develop a conceptual plan for the museum grounds that brings to life its vision for the town square. The plan will reflect the involvement of Metro Detroit residents, other area cultural institutions, the City of Detroit Planning and Development Department and the William Davidson Foundation.
“By converting its front grounds into a town square, the DIA is opening wide its arms to embrace its surrounding neighborhoods and offering Detroit a new public gathering place,” says Darin McKeever, chief program and strategy officer at the William Davidson Foundation. “We wholeheartedly support this effort and believe benefits to residents and visitors alike will flow for years to come.”
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as the Detroit Institute of Arts, to cultivate vitality in their communities through the arts,” says NEA Chairman Jane Chu.
“We would not have won these two planning grants without the expert help of City of Detroit staff,” acknowledges Salort-Pons. “We look forward to our ongoing partnership.”
July 27, 2017 (Detroit)—The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has received a $150,000 grant from the William Davidson Foundation and a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town program to support development of a conceptual plan that reimagines the DIA’s Woodward Avenue grounds as the cultural hub of Detroit. The vibrant new space will be designed to encourage pedestrian circulation and public gatherings and will support outdoor programs and exhibitions.
“We want to be a gathering place for everybody,” says Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA director. “Vital to this plan is a museum-wide push to engage in public dialogue, to talk with our neighbors and enlist their suggestions on how best to connect the museum grounds to our surrounding community.”
Creating a conceptual plan is the first phase of a three-part project. Following the completion of the conceptual plan, the DIA will begin raising additional funds to finance Phase 2, the development of architectural schematics for the town square’s exterior design, and Phase 3, breaking ground on an exterior capital project.
With support from the William Davidson Foundation and the NEA, the DIA will put together a team of local representatives, consultants and experts to develop a conceptual plan for the museum grounds that brings to life its vision for the town square. The plan will reflect the involvement of Metro Detroit residents, other area cultural institutions, the City of Detroit Planning and Development Department and the William Davidson Foundation.
“By converting its front grounds into a town square, the DIA is opening wide its arms to embrace its surrounding neighborhoods and offering Detroit a new public gathering place,” says Darin McKeever, chief program and strategy officer at the William Davidson Foundation. “We wholeheartedly support this effort and believe benefits to residents and visitors alike will flow for years to come.”
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as the Detroit Institute of Arts, to cultivate vitality in their communities through the arts,” says NEA Chairman Jane Chu.
“We would not have won these two planning grants without the expert help of City of Detroit staff,” acknowledges Salort-Pons. “We look forward to our ongoing partnership.”