MEDIA CONTACT: Maris Bish 305.535.2622 maris ... - Wolfsonian-FIU

MEDIA CONTACT:
Maris Bish
305.535.2622
maris@thewolf.fiu.edu
The Wolfsonian–FIU Receives $5 Million to Increase Access to Collection
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funding part of larger investment in the arts in South Florida
(MIAMI BEACH, FL) December 12, 2012— The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has awarded a
$5 million grant to The Wolfsonian–Florida International University to support programs that will provide
greater public access to the museum’s collection of art and design, especially by enhancing its online
offerings and reach.
The grant, announced Dec. 3 at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, is part of $23 million in new
funding that the Knight Foundation has awarded to support the arts in South Florida.
The Wolfsonian will receive its Knight Foundation grant over a five-year period. That support will go
towards realizing a major component of the museum’s five-year plan, namely creating one of the world’s
most important online resources of visual and material culture. The Wolfsonian will make a large part of
its collection—hundreds of thousands of images and records—accessible to anyone around the globe
with an Internet connection, inspiring creation, content generation, sharing, and dissemination among
user groups defined by interest, not by geography.
"Museums need two-way communication because today's audiences demand to be engaged. The
Wolfsonian's plans for its online collection, coupled with enhanced outreach, will help draw more people,
and more kinds of people into its world class offerings," said Dennis Scholl, vice president/arts at Knight
Foundation.
“We are proud of The Wolfsonian and its achievements since being set in motion seventeen years ago by
the founding vision of Mitchell Wolfson, Jr.,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg. “The Knight
Foundation’s recognition and critical support of the institution marks an exciting transition point in our
museum’s young history and development.”
Since it opened in 1995 and joined FIU two years later, The Wolfsonian has established an international
reputation for its exhibitions, publications, and programs, while forming strong ties to the South Florida
community; grown its collection and acquired real estate to support long-term growth; created an online
presence; and built a talented professional staff and board. At the core of all of these achievements is
The Wolfsonian’s collection, which consists of more than 100,000 decorative arts objects, sculptures,
paintings, prints, drawings, posters, rare books and periodicals, and ephemeral items (such as brochures,
advertisements, postcards, and matchbooks), almost all from the late 19th century to the end of World
War II.
“I am honored to be a part of this institution at this exciting moment, as the museum is poised to move
into its next phase of development,” said Neil Flanzraich, chairman of the museum’s Advisory Board. “The

Knight Foundation grant will drive the important work we are doing to fulfill our vision of providing
enhanced access both physically and digitally to our collection in ways that will permit people in Miami
and around the world to truly engage with our museum of art and design in the service of ideas.”
In addition to providing greater online access to the collection in a user-centered and user-animated
online environment, The Wolfsonian also plans to improve physical access to the collection through
enhanced facilities and a more dynamic exhibition program, to increase the commitment to research and
publication, and to raise its visibility through high-profile public programming.
“The Knight Foundation has been a critical driver of South Florida’s cultural renaissance,” said Cathy Leff,
The Wolfsonian’s director. “With this grant, the Foundation will make a major impact on The Wolfsonian,
enabling us to realize our potential to present our collection not only to the immediate community, but to a
global online community."
This is the second time the Knight Foundation has offered major support for The Wolfsonian. In 2009, the
Foundation awarded $500,000 to the museum for the “Art of Illumination,” a program of projections on the
façade of The Wolfsonian’s 1001 Washington Avenue headquarters building, which will be completed in
2013. In all, over the last six years the Knight Foundation has supported the arts in South Florida by
awarding more than $86 million in grants to both grassroots and established organizations.
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About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media
innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and
communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.
About The Wolfsonian–Florida International University
The Wolfsonian is a museum, library, and research center that uses objects to illustrate the persuasive
power of art and design, to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, historical,
and technological changes that have transformed our world. The collections comprise approximately
120,000 objects from the period of 1885 to 1945—the height of the Industrial Revolution to the end of the
Second World War—in a variety of media including furniture; industrial-design objects; works in glass,
ceramics, and metal; rare books; periodicals; ephemera; works on paper; paintings; textiles; and medals.
The Wolfsonian is located at 1001 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL. Admission is $7 for adults; $5
for seniors, students, and children age 6 -12; and free for Wolfsonian members, State University System
of Florida staff and students with ID, and children under six. The museum is open daily from noon–6 p.m.;
Friday from noon–9 p.m.; and closed on Wednesday. Contact us at 305.531.1001 or visit us online at
www.wolfsonian.org for further information.
The Wolfsonian–FIU is proud to receive ongoing support from The Miami-Dade County Department of
Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, The Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County
Commissioners; The State of Florida; Department of Cultural Affairs; The Florida Council on Arts and
Culture; The City of Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program Cultural Arts Council; The Arthur F. and Alice
E. Adams Foundation; United Airlines, the Official Airline of The Wolfsonian–FIU; Bacardi, USA., Inc.; and
The Wolfsonian Visionaries.

About FIU
Florida International University is one of the twenty-five largest universities in the nation, with more than
forty-two thousand students. Nearly one hundred thirty thousand FIU alumni live and work in South
Florida. Its colleges and schools offer more than two hundred bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs
in fields such as engineering, international relations, and law. As one of South Florida’s anchor
institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most
challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. The
opening of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in August 2009 has enhanced the university’s
ability to create lasting positive change in our community. For more information about FIU, visit
www.fiu.edu.