Wednesday, 4 February 2005 :: 12:12 pm

New Art Museum to Open in Downtown Detroit

DETROIT, MI -- This October, a brand-new art museum will open in Downtown Detroit's cultural center. It will be located at the corner of Woodward Ave. and Garfield Street. The new art museum will be called The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

The new art museum will be housed inside a building that dates back to the 1920s. The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit will be run by a panel of trustees. Those on the founding board include Marsha Miro, who is the director, owner of the Townsend Hotel, Keith Pomeroy. Others on the board include the likes of Julie Taubman, Linda Dresner, and video producer Danialle Karmanos.

We would like to tell you how this museum will be different from the DIA. The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is Detroit's largest art museum. Their focus is on art from the past. They have many paintings from Picasso, Van Gogh and DaVinci. The Museum of Contemporary Art will focus on the present and the future. They will showcase what's hot now.

This new museum will attract a different demographic. The Museum of Contemporary Art will attract young people. Youngsters and teenagers are the ones that are interested in contemporary art. They want to have what's in style. This museum will fill the void that Detroit has in this category. There is no other contemporary art museum until now.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit will be located inside the downtown cultural center. It will be near the College of Creative Studies, walking distance to and from Wayne State University. You will be withing steps from the DIA and the Detroit Science Center, as well. It is directly across the street from The Whitney, one of Detroit's finest restaurants.

The building that currently stands at this location was purchased by Richard Manoogian. He is one of the biggest supporters of the DIA and also the CEO of Masco Corp. He bought the building in 2001. It is a 20,000 square foot, one-floor building. The official residence of Detroit's mayor is named after Manoogian (The Manoogian Mansion). According to a recent article in The Detroit News, Richard Manoogian will not be sending funds to finance the new museum.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit will have to be different from the DIA. It has to be unique to be able to survive. The DIA is undergoing a major renovation. Another factor to consider is the Cranbook Art Museum. It is Metro Detroit's contemporary art museum. The only thing is it's location. Cranbook is not in the city of Detroit rather in the suburb of Bloomfield Hills. It has been in business for 75 years.

The museum is looking to attract nationally-known artists. Some of them include Kara Walker, Barry McGee and Nari Ward, according to a Detroit News story. In 2001, the Metro Times reported, "Detroit was the last remaining major city in the nation without a contemporary art museum."

This October, look for the new Museum of Contemporary Art. It will be located inside Detroit's cultural center near many museums, restaurants and Wayne State University. They are looking to fill the void of a modern art museum. Their target demographic is youngsters, teenagers and twenty-year olds.