Two of Phoenix’s longstanding arts establishments — the Phoenix Art Museum and the Heard Museum — received considerable financial contributions since March.
The Phoenix Art Museum received a $2.5 million donation from former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and his wife Suzanne, and the Heard Museum received a $1.25 million grant from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.
The Seligs’ contribution to the Phoenix Art Museum made on March 19 was the largest donation to the museum in nearly 10 years.
The Seligs “knew the importance of it to the museum, so they wanted to be supportive in a really substantial way,” said Amada Cruz, Sybil Harrington Director of the Phoenix Art Museum.
The donation to the Phoenix Art Museum will serve as an endowment gift, which the museum can draw upon to fund the salary for the chief curator, a position that has been held vacant since 2002. The new position will work with the other curators to develop strategies on exhibitions and collections, Cruz said.
Once the position is filled, the museum expects to see “more exhibitions organized in house, bigger exhibitions that would then travel, higher visibility for the exhibition program, and a unified approach in adding to the collection,” Cruz said.
The Phoenix Art Museum is just now researching and speaking with people in the field as it begins the search for candidates to fill the vacancy.
“This position will allow our museum to move to its next phase of expanded programming and enhanced visitor experiences,” she said.
The Heard Museum announced on April 1 it would receive a grant from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust to create a new gallery within its existing structure.
At $1.25 million, it is the largest single one-year grant the Heard Museum has ever received, according to Natalie Vandeventer, director of institutional advancement for the Heard Museum.
The museum’s interior is comprised of two existing galleries that the Heard plans to turn into one large gallery. This will allow the organization to bring in visiting exhibits that the museum was unable to properly display before, according to Mark Scarp, communications manager for the Heard Museum.
Larger scale exhibits tend to attract more attention than some others, Scarp said.
“We hope to be able to increase our admissions as a result of bringing in these exhibits that we haven’t been able to in the past,” he said.
In addition to Native Americans, the Heard Museum also has exhibits on Latino culture, which the museum will be expanding in the next couple years, he said.
“The more diversity that we have represented in our city’s arts center, the more opportunity our citizens have to experience the depth and breadth of art,” said Steve Wilcox, communications director for the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
Contributions to institutions such as the Phoenix Art Museum and the Heard Museum, established in 1959 and 1929 respectively, can provide greater access for a quality arts experience to the community.
“It’s about providing the greatest value to the citizens of Arizona to make sure they have opportunities that are meaningful and significant in their lives to experience the arts,” Wilcox said.
Contact the reporter at alexa.levine@asu.edu
