Detroit may sell its cultural gems if city goes bust

Japan Times ^ | 06/25/2013 | AP

[TexGrill]

DETROIT – When Johnathan Shearrod gazes at Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait,” Bruegel the Elder’s “Wedding Dance” or any of the other treasures at the Detroit Institute of Arts, he can’t help but fear for their future.

If Detroit falls into bankruptcy, those masterpieces and other prized artworks could go on the auction block to help satisfy the city’s staggering debts. Though the auctions would raise much-needed cash, they would also strip the city of its cultural riches, including paintings by Rivera, Renoir and Matisse, and maybe even zoo animals and historic automobiles.

“The art here is just as important as any of the structures connected to the auto industry,” said Shearrod, a grant manager for a local nonprofit organization, during a recent visit to the museum. “The DIA is the spirit of Detroit.”

Other institutions owned by the city and potentially at risk include a black-culture museum, the historic Fort Wayne dating to the 1840s and the 400-hectare Belle Isle park, which will probably be leased to the state. Just north of the city is the Detroit Zoo.

Another source of potential auction pieces is the Detroit Historical Museum’s collection of about 60 vehicles, including an 1870 Phaeton Carriage car, a 1911 Ford Model T and John Dodge’s 1919 coupe.

Shearrod said the DIA collection shouldn’t be considered as an option.

“Bidding the stuff off is completely ridiculous,” he said. “There are better ways of dealing with Detroit’s debt” than selling off an art collection piece by irreplaceable piece.

[Stingray]

“Is this a collection of Detroit’s gang signs and graffiti?”

It’s the Charles H. Wright Museum. And it’s heavily subsidized by Detroit taxpayers. In a 2004 auditor’s report, the OAG (Office of Auditor General) issued this warning:

“...Unless the museum receives additional funding it will be necessary to cut back its operations significantly or discontinue operation completely, under the worst case scenario.”

That was in 2004 when the economy was roaring along.

The museum remains open and operating to this very day despite that fact that it remains heavily subsidized by taxpayer funds in a city that can’t afford to fix its ambulances or keep cops on the street.

Priorities. Detroit’s are all wrong. But I’m sure that museum helps the victims of black-on-black crime in the city feel good about themselves and their city, especially when they can’t even get a live cop on the phone to respond to an emergency.

Detroit is not only a disaster but a picture of America’s future if liberal priorities are allowed to persist.

[Darren McCarty]

Sell the DIA to Oakland County.......

[RinaseaofDs]

My reaction to this is,

“Whatever.”

It’s what happens when your citizens figure out they can vote themselves anything they want. Eventually, you run out of other people’s money, and like any other junkie, you have to start selling off your stuff to get another fix.

The GOP, if it has any conservatives left in it, should buy billboards on the major arteries going into and out of Detroit saying:

“Welcome to the city progressivism built. We recommend you come armed, since nobody is left to take a 911 call.”

You got the government you deserved, Detroit.