Flint Institute of Arts plans $8.5M expansion, renovation

DETROIT (AP) — The Flint Institute of Arts plans an $8.5 million museum expansion and art school renovation that includes a wing for contemporary crafts and space for artists to work with stadium-style seating so visitors can observe the creative process, officials announced Thursday.

The museum has a significant collection of glass and ceramics and the art school renovation will include glass furnaces and a metal foundry.

The art school enrolls more than 1,700 students a year, offering instruction in drawing, painting, photography, mixed media, printmaking, ceramics, glass mosaic, fiber arts and metal sculpture.

"With its long history and culture of tinkering, inventing, designing and manufacturing useful — and sometimes very beautiful — objects, Flint is an ideal place for providing a contemporary craft experience for artists and visitors," said William S. White, chairman and CEO of the Mott Foundation.