Kellogg Foundation supports embattled Detroit Institute of the Arts

Associated media

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation has joined those fighting to save the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts from a forced sale to fund the city's pension obligations.

A Statement from a Foundation working group, which includes the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, William Davidson Foundation, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, Ford Foundation, Hudson-Webber Foundation, Kresge Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, McGregor Fund and Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, states:
 
We are pleased to announce that The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) has committed to invest $40 million in the fund to help clear a pathway toward Detroit's revitalization, support the city of Detroit’s pension obligations to current and retired workers and safeguard the Detroit Institute of Art.

This new commitment brings the total amount pledged to date by philanthropic foundations and individuals to $370 million. The Kellogg Foundation's commitment strengthens this effort, and we are hopeful the fund will continue to attract commitments from individual donors and institutions. It is our urgent hope and our belief that our combined investments in the future of Detroit will help stabilize and renew the city at this critical time.

For more on the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) and its current problems see previous articles in Cassone:

‘Graham Beal: Telling stories with art’, June 2013

‘Panic in Detroit? DIA fights back’, August 2013

‘Is art just a store of value? The battle for DIA’, December 2013

‘The battle to protect the Detroit Institute of Arts’ December 2013

See also ‘A city on its knees: Ruins and hope in Detroit’, April 2012