Museum Funding-Fundraising

The Michigan State Senate took the high road today, and therein lies a moral for not only politicians around the country but also the art world.

Marshalling support from left and right, the suite of bills required to enable the so-called Grand Bargain to rescue Detroit, its pensioners and the Detroit Institute of Arts sailed through the senate “with large bi-partisan majorities” and now goes to Republican Governor Rick Snyder to sign. Said the Detroit Free Press:

Passage of the bills was a seminal moment in the city’s historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy process, and will strengthen the possiblity of a successful reorganization and emergence.

With the state’s contribution in hand, the city will have extra leverage in pushing pensioners and creditors to accept a settlement, pensioners will have added assurance that their retirement savings will be secure and the federal judge overseeing the proceedings will have firmer ground on which to base his rulings. It was a huge win — though the fight is far from over and now moves back to Detroit.

But the best part came next in that article — in two parts:

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville [at right], R-Monroe, called the package of nine bills a “smart, conservative decision,” that will help ease cuts to pensioners, save the artwork at the Detroit Institute of Arts from sale, and shields the state from future lawsuits regarding the bankruptcy — a major incentive for lawmakers.

Missing from the package was a bill that would have prohibited the DIA from seeking a renewal of a millage to support the museum or asking for a new one.

Not only did the senate refrain from muzzling voters in the three counties surrounding Detroit in future plebiscites, but also Richardville said the right thing, calling the bills smart and conservative. One of my fondest wishes is that many more conservatives around the country would recognize the public value of the arts, with money or recognition or both. (Not that all Democrats do.)

As for the art world, it should learn from this too. Far too often, the art world writes off the entire Republican party (I’m not talking tea party here) completely and with needless disdain. In my many years of reporting, some sources, who’ve always wanted (needed?) to remain anonymous, have told me they’ve been shunned for, say, performing at the Bush White House or even engaging in conversation with Republicans. Recently, George W. Bush’s paintings unhinged some critics (and by that I do not necessarily mean professional critics — Roberta Smith, you may recall, told everyone to “get a grip, especially those in the art world who dismiss the paintings without even seeing them“).

But it simply doesn’t make sense to make enemies needlessly. There will always be times when the arts need public support from — yes — the right side of the aisle. Maybe just at the margins, maybe not “large bi-partisan” votes, maybe votes that have all kinds of political motives. Who cares? It still pays to keep communication channels open and to listen to the other side. Even if you think they are dead wrong. They don’t have to know that.

Here’s the story, btw, from The Detroit News.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Detroit News

I don’t envy Kevyn Orr, Detroit’s emergency manager, that’s for sure. Tough as his job is, he also has to contend with the nastiness surrounding the city’s bankruptcy — which always happens, as in any bankruptcy, someone has to lose out.

This past weekend, Orr (at right) made a speech on Mackinac Island in which he blasted the “misinformation” campaign being waged by financial creditors (among other things), according to The Detroit News. Good for him.

The News said:

At an event showcasing bankrupt Detroit’s comeback, Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr issued a dire warning to state business and political leaders Friday about the tenuous nature of a deal engineered to limit reductions in benefits for 32,000 pensioners.

The usually confident Washington, D.C. bankruptcy attorney voiced concerns that a deal to prop up city pensions with state and private funds could unravel if retirees and existing workers reject the settlement or the state Senate refuses to contribute taxpayer resources.

Orr said he’s worried about a creditor vote underway that’s already been hampered by inaccurate ballots, a “misinformation” campaign being waged by financial creditors and a looming summer trial over his plan to slash Detroit’s $18 billion in debts in half.

Orr warned that a vote today (Tuesday) in the state senate authorizing $195 million is crucial:

“Without the money, without the vote, we’re done,” Orr said. “We go back to the drawing board.”

Specifically about the city’s “very ticked off” bond insurers he said they were waging a “very concerted and focused campaign to undermine the proposal we have on the table.”

Facing hundreds of millions in potential losses, bond insurance giants Syncora Guarantee Inc. and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company have been pushing for a sale of city-owned art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which Orr has resisted.

“I just learned yesterday that they’re sending packages to the financial press in New York, not just criticizing the proposal we have out, but providing misinformation about how unfair it is … and that if we sell the art it could result in a greater recovery for all creditors,” Orr said.

The insurers are being short-sighted. Detroit needs to revive after the grand bargain; a stripped down Detroit Institute of Arts won’t help the city do that.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the BBC

It’s hard not to read the article in the Miami Herald posted yesterday and headlined Board rejects North Miami’s nominee for Museum of Contemporary Art director without either laughing or shaking your head. Here’s why: 

The museum’s board of trustees — which has said it wants to move the museum’s collection to Miami Beach’s Bass Museum of Art — said Wednesday it would no longer consider the city of North Miami’s designee for new museum director. 

“The Board provided the candidate, Mr. Babacar M’Bow [at right], with a two-week window to participate in a standard background check, which is a required step in evaluating the credentials of candidates for the position,” the museum’s board said in a statement Wednesday. “Despite multiple notifications, Mr. M’Bow did not comply with the background check and is therefore no longer under consideration for the position.

M’Bow said he received an email May 13 asking for his Social Security number and credit report, but because he did not recognize the sender he did not respond. He said that North Miami conducted a background check on him when it appointed him and that the board did not try to contact him beyond the May 13 email.

“They have never interviewed me, they have never called and said, ‘Give me the background information,’ ” M’Bow said. “The board should have just asked the city to transfer the files to them.”

These disputes make the so-called cultured class look silly. Although I would like to see North Miami keep the museum, I really don’t know whether the museum can sustain itself there or not. But it certainly can’t do it without donors — unless the city truly wants to pay for the whole thing, which it does not seem to. So if the city wants to replace the director, it had better also replace the board with new supporters/donors.

Meanwhile, the board should climb down from its current stance and interview M’Bow — or come up with an acceptable candidate to the city. But who take the job now?

Photo Credit: Courtesy of The New York Times