Displaying items by tag: administration

The Philadelphia Museum of Art received a $5-million grant from Gov. Tom Corbett's administration that will go toward the renovation of the museum’s main building.

The grant, announced by Susan Corbett on Thursday during a press conference, is one of the economic growth initiative grants awarded by the Corbett administration's redevelopment assistance capital program. It will go toward the museum’s $350-million renovation, designed by architect Frank Gehry, which will add more than 169,000 square feet of space, including a redesign of the "Rocky" steps.

The Italian minister for culture and tourism, Dario Franceschini, has announced a series of “revolutionary” reforms, which could mean that leading museums such as the Uffizi in Florence and the Accademia in Venice gain independence on a par with many of their European counterparts. Franceschini said: “The chronic lack of autonomy of Italian museums... greatly limits their potential.” He also aims to cut costs, streamline the administration and better integrate the work of his ministry.

The ministry was earmarked for staffing cuts after a €100m reduction in its budget from 2012 to 2013 under Franceschini's predecessor Massimo Bray. The latest review, presented by Franceschini last week, justifies 37 managerial redundancies in museums to reduce bureaucracy.

Thirty-five out of forty-four senior art students were left without their sketchbooks, canvases, brushes, books, and completed works after a fire broke out at Pratt Institute in New York City on February 15, 2013. The fire, which ignited in Pratt’s historic Main Building due to faulty electrical wiring, also destroyed much of the structure’s roof and the studios that painting students are given in their final year.

In an effort to ease the students’ crushing loss, art dealer Larry Gagosian has partnered with Pratt to present a special drawing and painting exhibition. Gagosian was especially moved by Pratt’s fire as he almost lost a sizable chunk of his own collection after a fire broke out at his home in the Hamptons in 2011.

Flameproof will feature 100 works by Pratt’s 44 senior drawing and painting students and will be curated by Eugenie Tsai, the John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum. The exhibition is focused on the students’ collective experience at Pratt and was largely facilitated by the Pratt recovery effort, which provided students with donated supplies and gift cards from the school’s administration and local art stores.

Flameproof will be held at the Seagram Building on Park Avenue from May 9-14, 2013.

After partnership offers from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has decided to remain an independent institution. The museum has been struggling after a spate of financial issues and widespread criticism of its administration and overall direction.  

MOCA’s board released a statement on March 19, 2013 explaining, “The board is in agreement that the best future for MOCA would be as an independent institution. The Board understands that this will require a significant increase in MOCA’s endowment to ensure its strong financial standing. We are working quickly toward that goal, while at the same time exploring all strategic options, to honor the best interest of the institution and the artistic community we serve.” There are currently no artists on MOCA’s board after a number of high-profiled artists including John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, and Barbara Kruger resigned earlier this year.

Earlier this month, LACMA Director Michael Govan offered to raise $100 million for MOCA’s two locations in exchange for the acquisition of the institution. The National Gallery was not interested in an institutional merger but offered to collaborate with MOCA on programming and research initiatives. Eli Broad, one of MOCA’s major benefactors, was in favor of partnering with the National Gallery.