Final Christie's Report: Detroit Art Worth Up to $867-Million

DETROIT FREE PRESS
By Randy Kennedy

Detail from Michelangelo drawing for design of Sistine Chapel, estimates auction value is $12 million to $20 million

MICHIGAN---The price tags are on the paintings. Detroit’s emergency manager released a report from Christie’s auction house on Thursday detailing market estimates for some of the greatest masterpieces in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Art. The estimates – which Christie’s said would total between $454 million and $867 million – cover about 2,800 pieces, or less than 5 percent of the institute’s entire collection because Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevyn D. Orr, asked Christie’s to focus only on pieces that had been bought with city funds over the years, not ones than had been donated or bought with other funds. The museum and its supporters have vowed to go to court to try to stop any sale. [link]

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Celebrating Two Years of Giving to Culture in Kentucky on power2give

FUND FOR THE ARTS

KENTUCKY---It’s been two years since the launch of power2give.org/Kentucky, an online crowd-funding platform, and the results have been extraordinary! More than 117 organizations have posted 430 projects and more than $1.1 million has been raised. Matching sponsors Kentucky Arts Council, Republic Bank & Trust Company, LG& E, Louisville Metro Government and Humana Foundation, have been an integral part of ensuring the success of the site, helping to leverage more than 3,600 gifts. Any 501(c)(3) organization in Kentucky or Southern Indiana can submit an Arts related project to power2give.org/kentucky for review. For more information please contact Annie Nelson at (502) 582-0128 or anelson@fundforthearts.com. [link]

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Foundation's Secret Bids Guide Hopi Indians’ Spirits Home

THE NEW YORKBy Tom Mashberg

Alain Leroy, owner of an auction company in Paris, surrounded by sacred Hopi spirit masks.

CALIFORNIA---The foundation had never done something like this before — a repatriation effort — and the logistics were tricky, to say the least. More than 100 American Indian artifacts were about to go on sale at the Drouot auction house, including 24 pieces, resembling masks, that are held sacred by the Hopi of Arizona. Now the Annenberg Foundation decided to get involved from its offices in Los Angeles. It hoped to buy all of the Hopi artifacts, plus three more sought by the San Carlos Apaches, at the Dec. 9 sale and return them to the tribes. To prevent prices from rising, the foundation kept its plan a secret, even from the Hopis, in part to protect the tribe from potential disappointment. [link]

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Foundations Should Not Save Detroit, Including the Institute of Arts

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Madonna and Child" by Giovanni Bellini is one of the works in the Detroit Institute of Arts collection.

There are 92,000 reasons why Foundations should not bailout the City of Detroit and the Detroit Institute of Art. All 92,000 are local millionaires, but regrettably Foundations are being pressured to foot the bill of $500 million needed as part of the city’s bankruptcy proceedings. Foundation dollars should not be used to cover municipal or institutional debts. Besides, there is too much other work yet to be done in Detroit to use up 50% of Foundation annual giving on one arts project. On the other hand, local millionaires like A. Paul Schaap, who pledged $5 million; plus the state's taxpayers can and should make this happen, and make it happen quickly.

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U.S. Foundation Buys Sacred Native American Masks to Return to the Hopi Nation

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By David Ng

A Hopi mask that was being sold by the Paris auction house Eve as part of a sale of Native American objects on Monday.

CALIFORNIA---The Annenberg Foundation has revealed that it was an anonymous bidder that paid $530,000 for 24 Native American artifacts that were being sold at a controversial auction in Paris earlier this week. The Los Angeles-based charitable organization headed by Wallis Annenberg said that it will return the artifacts to the Hopi Nation and to the San Carlos Apache tribe. Monday's controversial sale took place several months after another French auction house sold 70 Native American artifacts despite international criticism. Neret-Minet Tessier & Sarrou sold the objects at an April auction for a total of €930,000 ($675,479). [link]

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Arts Journalism Grants Awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

The critical role of journalism gets lost in many of the national, and local discussions about arts audience development, and that's why yesterday's NEA arts journalism announcement was so significant. This latest round of recipients of Art Works grant awards named Indianapolis as one of only four communities nationwide receiving Art Works grant awards. The four communities are: Ann Arbor, MI ($45,000); Detroit, MI ($30,000); Fort Lauderdale, FL ($25,000); and Indianapolis, IN ($35,000). The awards are a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and were announced as part of a webinar/press conference led by Sasha Anawalt, associate professor and director of arts journalism programs at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communications.

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Bringing Back the Artistic Beauty of a 19th-Century Church: Cost $4.5 Million

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By David Gonzalez

David Gonzalez/The New York Times

NEW YORK---The stunningly decorated sanctuary of St. Anselm’s Church in the South Bronx is a marvel of art and architecture, capturing Byzantine, Greek, Italian and German styles. A similar mix is reflected in the Roman Catholic congregation, whose members hail from at least 16 countries. Under one roof, they are of one heart. Unfortunately, you can also see the deterioration in the church, which was founded in 1892 by Benedictine monks from Germany and inspired by the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. After months of study, he estimated that 90 percent of the building could be restored. What was not so easily attainable was the approximately $4.5 million needed to finance the project.[link]

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Giving Tuesday 2013 Was Huge Success for Arts & Religious Groups

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Over 10,000 partners worldwide participated in the 2013 Giving Tuesday, said Henry Timms, Founder. Most individuals and organizations joined the conversation for the first time, including the Arts Council of Indianapolis and 100s of other arts groups around the country.  Religious groups also siezed on this opportunity for giving with some important big results. The United Methodist Church, for instance raised over $6 Million on their first-ever Giving Tuesday. At Alpha Omega Arts, we pushed our readers to give in support of seven religious arts groups: Jewish Art Salon, Christians In Visual Arts, Museum of Biblical Arts, Museum of Contemporary Religious Arts, Jesus In Love Blog, Rubins Museum of Art, and of course our own Project Fund. The Chronicle for Philanthropy reported that, "The increase in participants helped double online donations from $12-million to $21-million."

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Arts Journalism--A New Opportunity for Nonprofit & Commercial Partners

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Independent News Networks Fill Void

A new model for arts journalism in Middle America is needed, and I propose the development of innovative regional partnerships between commercial newspapers, arts groups, universities, and nonprofit media organizations. At a time when Americans appear to be abandoning the fine arts, part of the blame is a corresponding decline in arts journalism. Traditional media is failing the Arts, and during the past decade as jobs were slashed, content thinned, and arts criticism lost its emphasis, more Americans began getting their news online (21%), according to Pew’s biennial study.

The journalism landscape is changing, and one emerging trend has been the rise of nonprofit news organizations. These new entities however, with minimal staffs and modest budgets of less than $50,000 will not be able to compete outside of the coasts. The new arts journalism model for Middle America will empower bloggers, students and/or professionals, and non-arts journalists by offering perspectives that go beyond mere branding by increasing the levels of interactivity among audiences including postings and online conversations. Critically, it will also provide the business fundamentals of marketing, sales, and fundraising that are needed.

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Christie’s Reveals Detroit Art Appraisal: $866 Million

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Randy Kennedy

“Death on a Pale Horse” (1796) by Benjamin West; Credit 
Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund

MICHIGAN---The heart of the world-class collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts would raise somewhere between $452 million and $866 million if sold to help the City of Detroit dig its way out of bankruptcy, Christie’s said Wednesday, announcing the results of a highly anticipated appraisal. Christie’s examination was limited to works that were bought entirely or in part with city funds, because those works could be sold more easily than donated works, for example, whose sale could generate legal challenges. So the appraisal covers only a small part of the collection in terms of numbers — less than 5 percent of the museum’s 66,000 works — but many of the works are among the most important in the collection, by artists like Bruegel, Matisse and van Gogh. While Christie’s did not release estimates for individual works, it did note that 11 works — which it did not name — accounted for 75 percent of the total estimate in its report. [link]

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Millionaire to Give $5M Toward Protecting DIA Art and Detroit Pensions; Who's Next?

DETROIT FREE PRESS
By John Gallagher

MICHIGAN---A local philanthropist said Thursday he’ll donate $5 million toward protecting the Detroit Institute of Arts’ renowned collection and city retirees’ pensions — and he hopes to inspire others to give. Millionaire A. Paul Schaap said he plans to meet today with U.S. Chief District Judge Gerald Rosen, who is serving as mediator in Detroit’s bankruptcy case. Rosen has been trying to persuade at least 10 charitable foundations to put up $500 million to spin off the DIA from the city, which could then use the money to reduce pension cuts and improve services. [link]

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Giving Tuesday: Little Drummer Boy's Gift to a Baby (Music Video)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB



"I have no gift to bring" said the Little Drummer Boy, as shared by the a cappella group Pentatonix. Vocal sensations and winners of season 3 of NBC's The Sing-Off, Pentatonix are combining eclectic genres to take instrument-free music far beyond anyone's wildest expectations. The holidays and the giving season are here, so get ready for a musical gift that is sure to bring on the cheer and smiles.

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$32 million university donation a boost for study of ancient Asian art

UNIVERSITY WORLD
By Yojana Sharma

ILLINOIS---A visit to the abandoned and dilapidated Yangon University campus in Myanmar over a year ago was the unlikely setting for a discussion that led to a groundbreaking £20 million (US$32 million) donation to London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS. The grant from the Alphawood Foundation in Chicago will go towards training art and culture experts in ancient Hindu and Buddhist art in South East Asia, and will help revive museums in those countries after decades of neglect. [link]

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Lilly Endowment Awards $3,000 Grant to Michigan College to Study Christianity in Higher Education

MICHIGAN LIVE 
By Brian Vicar

MICHIGAN---Hope College has received a $3,000 grant to study how “different traditions in Christianity can work together within colleges and universities.” The grant, from the Lilly Fellows Program in the Humanities and Arts, aims to support ongoing discussions surrounding “the promise and challenges of genuine ecumenicity in Christian higher education,” according to Hope. [live]

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Religious Americans Give More, Say Researchers

THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY
By Alex Daniels

PHILANTHROPY---The more important religion is to a person, the more likely that person is to give to a charity of any kind, according to new research released today. Among Americans who claim a religious affiliation, the study said, 65 percent give to charity. About 75 percent of people who frequently attend religious services gave to congregations, and 60 percent gave to religious charities or nonreligious ones. By comparison, fewer than half of people who said they didn’t attend faith services regularly supported any charity, even a even secular one. “If your goal is to connect with donors, it’s clear that one of the things that matters to them is their religious orientation,” says Shawn Landres, Jumpstart’s chief executive and a co-author of the report. [link]

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Billionaire Collector Gives Boston Museum a Solid Base in Judaica

THE BOSTON GLOBE
By Geoff Edgers

A Hanukkah lamp from the Schusterman collection.

MASSACHUSETTS---The billionaire collector from Oklahoma was in Boston two years ago when a friend invited her to visit the newly built Art of the Americas wing at the Museum of Fine Arts. Lynn Schusterman was impressed. But the Jewish philanthropist noticed an enormous hole in the MFA’s collection. The largest museum in Boston owned barely any relics of Jewish life and customs. Judaica is an increasingly popular field that features objects used for religious occasions. Thanks to Schusterman, that has changed. This week the MFA will announce that Schusterman has given the museum 119 objects, an important infusion into a collection that, until now, numbered just 12 works. [link]

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Arts Education May Soon Play a Prominent Role in Federal Preschool Programs

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Legislation has been introduced into the U.S. Congress to provide State Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) opportunities for low income 4 year olds and additional early care programs for children age 3 and younger. "While the introduction of this bill in the House and Senate is the first step in the legislative process, it signifies important momentum for a key education priority of the President’s agenda," according to Janet Brown, CEO of Grantmakers in the Arts. The bill was introduced on Wednesday, November 13, and is sponsored by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and U.S. Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Richard Hanna (R-NY).

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$1.47 Million Grant Launched New Jewish Arts Program at George Washington University

THE JEWISH DAILY FORWARD
By Renee Ghert-Zand

WASHINGTON, DC---Hot on the heels of a new graduate program in Jewish Cultural Arts, George Washington University has announced an additional new MA program in Experiential Education and Jewish Cultural Arts. Whereas the first program focuses more on arts administration and museum management, the second is meant to train educators for professional roles in today’s broad and varied Jewish cultural landscape. The program in Experiential Education and Jewish Cultural Arts, the first of its kind in the U.S., is set to begin this coming summer thanks to a $1.47 million grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation. [link]

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All About the Benjamin's When Supporting Art

CREATEQUITY

Consider arts crowdfunding thoroughly kickstarted. Crowdfunding raised more than half a billion dollars for the performing and recording arts last year, almost 20% of the total money raised for all purposes through crowdfunding platforms, according to industry research. Lucy Bernholz is interested in investigating the small but increasing role U.S. foundations seem to be playing in driving this trend. Risë Wilson, the new Director of Philanthropy at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, makes the case – and offers a model – for arts grants as risk capital in an interview about the Foundation’s SEED grant program. [link]

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The National Endowment for the Arts Announces Expansion of Creative Arts Therapy Program

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Mask-making therapy will be one of the treatment activities for military patients with traumatic brain injury and psychological health issues at the Fort Belvoir NICoE satellite. Photo courtesy of NICoE

PHILANTHROPY---The National Endowment for the Arts announces the expansion of its landmark arts partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to bring art therapy to military patients at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital’s satellite center of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence in Fairfax County, Virginia. The NEA will support a three-month pilot program at the new NICoE satellite dubbed “Intrepid Spirit One,” in which a creative arts therapist will conduct visual arts therapy and therapeutic writing activities with wounded warriors diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and psychological health conditions. The initiative just released a white paper, Arts, Health, and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum, on integrating the arts into healthcare for the military and their families. [link]

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