In the Arts: Foundation Gifts Buoy Struggling Harlem Arts School

The Harlem School of the Arts will stay open at least through the summer thanks to a $1-million infusion from foundations and anonymous donors, say Bloomberg and The New York Times.

The 46-year-old institution, which closed April 1 amid financial and management troubles, got $500,000 from the jazz musician Herb Alpert’s foundation; $250,000 from the Starr Foundation, run by Hank Greenberg, the former chief executive officer of the insurer AIG; and $250,000 in anonymous gifts. A group of celebrities, led by the R ‘n’ B star Mary J. Blige, has committed to help raise additional funds.

In other arts news, a Georgia Senate committee voted Tuesday to restore money for the state’s arts agency, which had been cut by the House, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Senators said the $890,735 allocation for the Georgia Council for the Arts is needed for the state to qualify for federal arts funds.

Also, The Washington Post reports on a planned redesign of the bookstore at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum. The modern-art institution commissioned the Los Angeles artist Doug Aitken to remake the shop and will pay for the project from its acquisitions budget.

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