Bank of America announced the launch of The Art Conservation Project, a major initiative to help conserve important works of art and cultural treasures across the United States. The Art Conservation Project will provide grants to select institutions for the restoration of paintings, sculpture, archaeological or architectural pieces and other media in order to retain their cultural value for future generations.
“We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Art Conservation Project in the United States,” said Rena De Sisto, Global Arts and Culture executive at Bank of America. “Bank of America believes it is very important to invest in preserving works of art to help drive cultural awareness and understanding. Art conservation consumes an increasingly larger portion of art institutions’ budgets, and at the same time, the technology for conservation has become more effective and sophisticated. With this project, we aim to elevate understanding of the need for conservation support, while at the same time providing support for works that are in danger of degeneration.”
The Bank of America Art Conservation Project was piloted in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in 2010, and provided funding to restore a diverse range of works of art in 10 countries. These works include among others:
* Pablo Picasso’s Mujer en azul (Woman in Blue) from the collection at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid;
* The Winged Victory of Samothrace from Musée du Louvre in Paris;
* A collection of handmade beaded aprons at the Wits Art Museum in Johannesburg, created from the 1950s to the 1980s and worn by girls of the Ndebele people from South Africa.
As a company doing business in more than 150 countries around the globe, this program represents Bank of America’s commitment to building greater cultural understanding as well as strong communities through its Arts and Culture programming.
The company’s arts program supports nonprofit arts organizations across the world, including community-based arts organizations as well as leading world class organizations. Bank of America is the global sponsor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the international tour of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, and the Bridge Project, a theater project that travels the world to create common cultural experiences for people of many nations. Other programs include the Museums on Us® program, which offers US-based customers free access to 150 of America’s finest cultural institutions and Art in our Communities®, a program through which the company shares its corporate collection with museums throughout the world.
Applications for the Bank of America Art Conservation Project are welcome from all non-profit cultural institutions across the U.S. with significant works of art requiring conservation. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2011.
In 2011, Bank of America will seek applications from nonprofit arts organizations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.
For more information and to apply, please visit:
http://museums-admin.bankofamerica.com/partner/artconservation/