DIA Awarded $500,000 Challenge Grant

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DETROIT — The Detroit Institute of Arts has been awarded a $500,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide for the position of vice president of learning and interpretation. The grant requires a $1.5 million match by the DIA within five years.

The position is responsible for developing strategies for the museum’s visitor-centered interpretive plan, which is applied to special exhibitions and permanent collection galleries, student visits, and special programs for students, corporate executives, veterans with PTSD, and those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. The position requires expertise in learning theory, cognitive processes, aesthetic development and cultural presentation, all essential to the DIA’s visitor-centered approach.

Jennifer Wild Czajkowski currently holds the position and has seen many positive changes in her 20 years with the museum.

“I am proud of the DIA’s role as a major contributor to the ongoing dialogue about visitor-centered museum practices,” Czajkowski says. “The NEH Challenge grant will help the DIA build on its history of innovative interpretation, specifically in the areas of community engagement, art making programs, and K-12 programming.”