Tobacco Firm Will Slash Its Arts Funding

In the 21st century, corporate leadership in supporting the arts in New York may shift from a tobacco company to hedge funds.On January 31, the board of the Altria Group — the parent company of Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International — will announce the exact timing of its spin-off of Kraft Foods, the first stage in a large corporate restructuring. What this has to do with the arts landscape in New York City might not be immediately clear — until one looks at the list of cultural organizations that Altria has supported, and which may not continue receiving support once its individual operating companies control the philanthropic purse. At the top are the Whitney Museum ($557,000 in 2005), the Brooklyn Academy of Music ($389,000), the Brooklyn Museum ($345,000), Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts ($272,000), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ($305,700), the New Museum of Contemporary Art ($210,000), New York City Opera ($265,000), El Museo del Barrio ($313,500), Dance Theatre Workshop ($194,105), and Shakespeare in the Park ($100,000).A spokeswoman for Altria, Lisa Gonzalez, said that approximately 56% of the 272 arts organizations that have received grants in the past will receive them this year. Some have already been informed that they won’t be receiving further grants; others are waiting to hear in the coming months. That is only the short-term, however. Organizations like BAM, which has had a 25-year history with Altria/ Philip Morris, are contemplating a long-term future in which the parent company may cease to exist.In 2004, Altria’s chief executive, Louis Camilleri, announced that the company might split into two or three independent companies to increase shareholder value. Philip Morris USA has been struggling in recent years with class action lawsuits, and Kraft has reportedly been eager to shed the “tobacco taint.” The Kraft spin-off may be followed by a further division into Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International.According to Ms. Gonzalez, Altria will be giving less, and the operating companies more, of the total philanthropic dollars distributed by the board. Last year, Altria was responsible for $24 million of a total $60 million disbursed by the entire company. For 2007, it is responsible for $20 million. Altria’s philanthropy has been focused on the arts, domestic violence, and hunger. But the operating companies have their own interests: Kraft focuses on health and wellness, Philip Morris USA on economic vitality.All of the grantees contacted by the New York Sun said that Altria has kept them continuously informed about the implications of the restructuring and, in many cases, has tried to connect them with new potential donors.Last February, for instance, Altria held a breakfast at its corporate headquarters to announce a significant gift to El Museo del Barrio and to introduce other members of the philanthropic community to El Museo. “What was very responsible is that, at the same time that they are making a significant gift, they are preparing a transition of leadership in the philanthropic world, and acknowledging that they are going to create a vacuum,” the director of the museum, Julián Zugazagoitia, said. “My expression would be that they are ‘passing the baton.'”“There is an end in sight,” the vice president of planning and development at BAM, Lynn Stirrup, said. “We are hoping that we can remain among their grantees for the next year or two, and that they are going to be true to their word in terms of trying to help us use this transition in their corporate life as a call to action for other donors.” Philip Morris (the parent company’s name prior to 2002) was one of the original sponsors when BAM launched the Next Wave Festival in 1983. “They’ve stuck with it through thick and thin,” Ms. Stirrup said of the partnership. “Their company has gone through a lot of transitions.”The Whitney Museum has the most to lose from the potential dissolution of Altria. Altria has been the lead sponsor of the Whitney Biennial, and the Whitney operates a satellite museum at Altria’s corporate headquarters on Park Ave. and 42nd St. The future of the relationship, like the future of Altria, is uncertain. “Our expectation is that things will change,” the Whitney’s spokeswoman, Jan Rothschild, said. “Our hope is that, based on the huge success of this kind of sponsorship, other corporations whose mission incorporates innovation and creativity will step in and generously support contemporary art and ideas.”Asked in an email about the future of the Whitney satellite, the vice president of contributions at Altria, Jennifer Goodale, wrote: “We are in the process of discussing the future of the Whitney Museum at Altria with Adam [Weinberg, the Whitney’s director] and his team, as we have for the past two years.”Among the organizations that have been informed that they will not be receiving further support are two dance presenters, Dance Theater Workshop and Danspace Project. As for the Joyce Theater, which has also received major support from Altria, the executive director, Linda Shelton, said: “We believe that there will be one more year of support, and the future is uncertain.”She said it was painful for the dance community to lose such a major supporter. “It’s very hard for dance companies to raise corporate money, for whatever reason, and Altria has been there for a lot of dance companies and presenters, including the Joyce, for many, many years. It’s very hard to see that kind of loyal funder to the art form playing a different role.”Christopher Wheeldon, a former resident choreographer at New York City Ballet, said that he was saddened to learn, in a recent article in the New York Times about his new company, that Altria’s support was being cut back. “It’s never good to hear that funding for the arts, particularly for dance, is going to be cut back in any way,” Mr. Wheeldon told the Sun. “Building the beginnings of a new company, my big hope is that this will be really great for the dance world — that it will help create excitement and buzz, so that we can all reap the benefits of a new audience for dance. It’s not my intention and would not be my desire to think that we were sweeping in and taking monies away from other people. But that’s, unfortunately, the way life goes in some ways.”In spite of their regrets, many of the grantees praised Altria’s history of support for the arts. The director of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Tom Healy, said Altria had been courageous in supporting cutting-edge art. “No company has the track record for supporting compelling, visionary, sometimes even controversial and provocative work the way Altria has. They’ve had an amazing run,” Mr. Healy said. “The big challenge is to make sure some other companies step into the breach.”The question is: Who? Several people suggested that the financial sector may begin to play a larger role in funding the arts in New York City. “We’re hoping that some of the new sectors will start to emerge as lead donors,” Ms. Stirrup said. “There are a couple of non-profit organizations that have been successful in tapping into the hedge fund dollars, but that’s a place where you don’t find a lot of examples yet of major partnerships.”Ms. Shelton mentioned American Express and First Republic Bank as companies that have supported the Joyce and might possibly take a larger role in funding dance. “Bloomberg might also step up,” she added.Mr. Healy also pointed to the financial world as a potential source of new funds. “It is in the financial and real estate sectors in New York City where the most money is generated, the greatest profits,” he said. “A lot of [those] companies don’t have the same kind of stockholder or consumer-based reaction to maybe supporting things that might be controversial or cutting-edge. That’s a sector where I would say there isn’t really dramatic leadership in broad-based cultural support, and there certainly are the resources.”

Tobacco Firm Will Slash Its Arts Funding

Tobacco Firm Will Slash Its Arts Funding

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