The Flint Institute of Arts (FIA) is committed to making art available, approachable, and accessible to all. FIA is the second largest art museum in Michigan and one of the largest museum-connected community art schools in the United States. For more than ninety years, the FIA has been responsible for acquiring, protecting, and presenting a collection of art and artifacts spanning the globe. Every year, the museum serves more than 160,000 people, through its exhibitions, events, and programs. The FIA promotes the power of the visual arts by providing lifelong learning opportunities to engage and educate a diverse regional audience.

This Implementation Grant will help FIA replace multiple existing air-handling units in the galleries, which require continuous repair and are not maintaining recommended levels for temperature and humidity, placing FIA collections in jeopardy. The FIA must provide an environment that is sustainable and stable for its collection. This project is critical because more than 36 percent of the FIA’s 172,000 sq. ft. facility and 100 percent of the permanent collection are impacted by ineffective and unreliable humidifiers. FIA’s plan is to replace nine electric steam humidifiers with new ultrasonic humidification technology that uses 93 percent less energy in air-handling units servicing collection galleries and storage areas. Work will consist of the installation of new ultrasonic humidifiers and control integration in nine locations servicing gallery and art storage areas.