The Taylor Community Library will host artwork including “Fire in a Haystack” by Jules Adolphe Aime Louis Breton, seen above during a previoius Inside/Out display at the New Baltimore Recreation Center.
By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR — If the patrons won’t go to the museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts decided to take the collection to the public.
The museum was recently awarded a $250,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to continue its “Inside Out” program through 2013, a roaming display where quality reproductions of some of the museum’s key paintings take up residence throughout the metro Detroit area.
Building on the success of the program that started in 2011, DIA Director Graham W.J. Beal said the Knight grant will help the museum bring the traveling exhibit to new communities this spring.
“We can continue to engage people with art in settings that are familiar to them,” Beal said, “fostering both creativity and pride in their communities.”
The DIA remains one of Detroit’s true cultural gems, attracting notable exhibitions and housing one of the most well-regarded collections in American museums. More than 60,000 works comprise the museum’s permanent collection, including the Diego Rivera “Detroit Industry” mural.
Taylor joins Wyandotte, Dearborn, Mount Clemens, Farmington, Southfield and other suburban communities for this year’s lineup, which will place seven to 10 reproductions at key points — within walking distance — in the city. Beginning this spring, high-quality prints of seven of the museum’s masterpieces will decorate Taylor locations including the William D. Ford Senior Activity Center, the Taylor Recreation Center and Library, Heritage Park and the Goodwill Community Garden.
Among the classic paintings on display will be works by Edgar Degas, Peter Paul Rubens, Pierre August Renoir and Claude Monet. (Exact locations and installations remained undetermined at press time; a walking-tour, interactive map will be available at www.dia.org.)
Properly inspired, the museum also offers the host communities free admission to the museum; Taylor residents will be admitted to the DIA for free on April 29.
Knight Foundation Vice President for the Arts Dennis Scholl said that the Inside/Out program is a proven success in stimulating interest in the arts and the museum.
“We believe that the arts are a catalyst for public dialogue,” Scholl said. “And that shared cultural experiences contribute to a sense of place and communal identity.”
Details remain pending, but previous Inside/Out communities played host to a variety of activities built around the paintings, from wine-tasting bus tours to talks at local libraries. New this year will be a Facebook page for DIA Inside/Out viewers to recommend to friends.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].)