First Detroit Cut Jobs, Now Potentially Arts Too
In a city with 20.1 percent of its residents unemployed, jobs aren’t the only thing being cut.
The city of Detroit may cut up to 75 percent of funding for some of the city’s main tourist and artistic centers, the Detroit city council announced Tuesday. The council plans to finalize its budget by next week.
Cultural institutions potentially under the knife include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Historical Museum, the Detroit Zoo, the Eastern Market and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History.
The Detroit Institute of Arts received $500,000 from the city in 2010. Under the new budget the DIA would receive $125,000. The museum of African-American history’s budget would drop from $2 million to $975,000.
"We are confident the mayor and city council will come up with a solution that is fair and affordable for the city," the Detroit Historical Museum said. The museum’s budget could be cut to $112,000 from $450,000.
The Detroit Zoo may not receive funding at all.
(Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)