MACKINAC ISLAND – Any discussion of selling art from the Detroit Institute of Arts is premature, but the art “could be in play,” if Detroit finds itself in a Chapter 9 bankruptcy, Treasurer Andy Dillon told reporters here.
But the spokesperson for Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr said the discussion that began a week ago on the possibility of the institute’s art as an asset was more to alert the DIA that they had a duty to protect the art.
“This was to alert the DIA that this is a liability for them, and they should seek the right counsel to advise them” Bill Nowling said.
“There is no order to value the art. There is no plan to sell art,” Nowling said.
Dillon also said that the sale of any DIA art was “not going to happen as far as I know,” but then added “outside of a global settlement.”
The biggest threat to the museum’s collection could be if the city ends up in a Chapter 9 bankruptcy action, Dillon said.
“Then it could be in play,” he said.
Nowling said the point of raising the issue on the DIA collection, which has provoked worries from art lovers across the world, was to alert museum executives they have a responsibility to protect the art.
He also said that DIA officials should have considered protecting the art when they undertook the property tax issues a year ago for a special millage for the museum.
“Rationalizing an asset is not the same as selling it,” he said, in reference to issues raised a week ago when the controversy first emerged. But the DIA has to be able to say what it has that it can protect, he said.
Nowling would not say that a sale would be absolutely out of the question, but instead that Orr’s focus was on coming up with a responsible plan to help the city restructure and provide services.
“We have to look at every option available,” Nowling said, but that doesn’t mean it would result in the collection being sold.
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