DIA: Thank You for Moving Southeast Michigan Forward

Regionalism and gratitude were the words of the day as, earlier this month, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) discussed the November millage and the big difference local voters have made.

"I cannot tell you what an important and critical vote that was," DIA chief operating officer Annmarie Erickson said Feb. 8. "Your help really did an amazingly critical thing for the DIA."

Erickson made her statement at the DIA's Crystal Ballroom as part an announcement of which Metro Detroit communities would host the next round of Inside|Out installations this spring and summer.

In November, voters in Oakland, Macomb 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, residents from all three counties — including West Bloomfield — will receive free admission to the DIA for the next decade.

In the meanwhile, the museum's fundraisers will work to build a sustainable endowment.

"It also was an amazing statement on regionalism," Erickson said. "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.

Have you visited the DIA since the November millage passed? What is your favorite attraction?