3 ways the Dayton Art Institute might be the city’s biggest collaboration ever

When the Dayton Art Institute was dedicated in January 1930, it truly was a community effort.

Nearly 90 years later, it’s worth considering just how much the area’s art-lovers worked together to make it happen. Here are three ways:

1. A $2 million donation. Julia Shaw Carnell, who proposed it to the board of trustees, donated $2 million for construction of the new museum with the condition the citizens help fund the cost of operations.

2. Much of the original art was donated. Because the startup budget was dedicated to construction, the museum’s galleries were filled with donated art for the opening.

3. They combined to throw an impressive dedication. Hundreds of guests, “brilliantly gowned women and smartly attired escorts,” turned out to honor Carnell at the formal dedication, according to a newspaper account.

» READ MORE: When Dayton chipped in to open a city treasure

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