Grants to provide funding for 23 cultural preservation projects globally
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 13, 2023 /CNW/ — Bank of America announced today that 23 cultural institutions have been named as recipients of the 2023 Bank of America Art Conservation Project. They represent a diverse range of artistic styles, media and cultural traditions across China, Colombia, France, Lebanon, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S.
Since 2010, Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project has supported the preservation of paintings, sculptures, and archeological and architectural pieces of critical importance to cultural heritage and the history of art. More than 237 projects across 40 countries managed by nonprofit cultural institutions received funding to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of deterioration.
This year’s grant recipients include:
Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s conservation of Urban Light (2008), a sculpture by American artist Chris Burden that is celebrated as an unofficial symbol of the city. It features 202 historic streetlamps and is one of the museum’s most popular installations.
Armenian Museum of America’s restoration of 21 illuminated manuscripts, dating back to the fifth century. Many of the surviving works were damaged during World War I or looted and subsequently scattered internationally.
Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris’ restoration of Rythme (1938), an abstract painting in the Orphism style by French artist Sonia Delaunay.
National Gallery Singapore’s conservation of Chinese artist Chen Wen Hsi’s Gibbons (1977), an ink painting portraying lively primates native to Singapore.
The Hawai’i State Archives’ conservation of three royal portraits including William Cogswell’s portrait of Queen Lili‘uokalani (1892), the last sovereign monarch of Hawai’i.
Hampton University Museum’s preservation of 29 works on paper by prolific African American artist Dr. John T. Biggers.
The Arab Image Foundation’s preservation, digitization and documentation of 98 handmade photo albums by Lebanese photographer Agop Kouyoumjian.
“Art and objects of cultural heritage are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of time. The conservation of these works allows society at large to continue to be inspired by the rich diversity of the human experience,” said Brian Siegel, Global Arts, Culture & Heritage Executive at Bank of America. “We support this work as part of our efforts to promote cultural sustainability to preserve this shared history for future generations.”
The Art Conservation Project is one demonstration of BofA’s commitment to promoting cultural sustainability and making the arts more accessible and inclusive in communities. A wide range of support for both local and global nonprofit organizations helps drive engagement and is part of how BofA drives Responsible Growth. For a full list of museums receiving grants through the 2023 Bank of America Art Conservation Project, please view the 2023 Art Conservation Project brochure.
Bank of America Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 67 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,900 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs and award-winning digital banking with approximately 56 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
