Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, wants to account for assets held in the Detroit Institute of Arts, which has sparked fears that part of the collection could be sold in the future.
We've posted information here, and Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek will have an update for us later today.
Update 11:34 a.m.
The DIA just put out this statement on their Facebook page:
"The DIA strongly believes that the museum and the City hold the museum’s art collection in trust for the public. The DIA manages and cares for that collection according to exacting standards required by the public trust, our profession and the Operating Agreement with the City. According to those standards, the City cannot sell art to generate funds for any purpose other than to enhance the collection. We remain confident that the City and the emergency financial manager will continue to support the museum in its compliance with those standards, and together we will continue to preserve and protect the cultural heritage of Detroit."
9:19 a.m.
Detroit is in a big financial hole, and the man in charge of righting the ship wants to know what can be sold.
Mark Stryker and John Gallagher of the Detroit Free Press report that Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, is considering whether the DIA's art collection, with a roughly estimated value of $14 billion, should be counted as assets that can be sold to pay debts:
Liquidating DIA art to pay down debt likely would be a monstrously complicated, controversial and contentious process never before tested on such as large scale and with no certain outcome. The DIA is unusual among major civic museums in that the city retains ownership of the building and collection while daily operations, including fund-raising, are overseen by a nonprofit institution.
Stryker and Gallagher report on the many hurdles facing such a sale, including ...
- restrictions on selling off city assets in municipal bankruptcy law,
- museum ethics and operating rules that forbid selling art,
- opposition from patrons who donated art,
- and major a public outcry against such a sale:
“There would be hue and cry the likes of which you’ve never heard,” said Ford Bell, president of the American Alliance of Museums in Washington, D.C. “The museum should be a rallying point for the rebirth of Detroit and not a source of funds.”
Orr spokesman Bill Nowling said there's no plan yet to sell any asset of the city, but he said all the city's assets must be accounted for.
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