Detroit Institute of Arts Thanks Metro Area Voters for 'Regional' Support

Regionalism was the word of the day recently when the Detroit Institute of Arts announced which suburban communities would host Inside|Out installations this spring and summer.

Clinton Township hosted six pieces from June to September 2012 and neighboring Shelby Township and Utica, along with 23 other communities selected, are slated to host reproductions of the museum's masterpieces as part of the 2013 program, which will be the first since a millage to help support the DIA was passed in August.

Voters in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties approved a tax of 0.2 mills for the next 10 years to help cover the museum's operating costs. In return, tri-county residents will receive free admission to the DIA for the next decade.

Incidentally, the millage passed by 971 votes in Clinton Township, but failed many other Macomb County communities. While the millage will help support day-to-day operations, museum fundraisers will work to build a sustainable endowment.

"I cannot tell you what an important and critical vote that was," DIA chief operating officer Annmarie Erickson said Feb. 8 as the 2013 Inside|Out communities were announced in the museum's Crystal Ballroom. "Your help really did an amazingly critical thing for the DIA.

"It also was an amazing statement on regionalism," she added. "This kind of back and forth is going to be essential to moving forward in southeast Michigan."

The Inside|Out program is funded through a partnership with the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, one of whose goals is to foster the arts.

"Like" the DIA Inside|Out page on Facebook or follow @DIADetroit #InsideOut on Twitter for updates on the program.