Premieres TONIGHT Wednesday, December 11, 2013 at 9pm ET
Taking viewers behind the scenes of the institution at the center of Detroit’s bankruptcy case, DETROIT ART CITY uncovers the story beyond the headlines. The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is recognized as one of the top six comprehensive art museums in the U.S. Yet unlike most major cultural institutions elsewhere, an appropriate operating endowment was never established for the DIA (a consequence of the city’s former industrial wealth).In recent times, as other museums struggle with attendance issues, the DIA has broken with tradition by rethinking both what art they display, and how they display it. The unique story ofDETROIT ART CITY goes inside the DIA’s millage campaign and August 2012 primary election that placed the fate of the museum into the hands of voters in Detroit’s tri-county area. Narrated by Pulitzer Prize winning writer and Detroit radio host Angelo B. Henderson, this very real snapshot of the status and future of the arts in Detroit provides a rare window into the nation’s most talked about art museum.
Airing on Detroit Public Television WTVS Ch. 56 on Wednesday, December 11, at 9pm ET, Detroit Art City: The DIA Story uncovers the story behind the headlines. Won't have access to a television when it airs? The program will also be streaming live at dptv.org/dia.