"New meeting rooms, a great hall, improved catering and lavatory spaces will enable the FIA to accommodate more local organizations that request the use of the facility," says John B. Henry, III, executive director of the FIA. "Our education facilities, which have been at capacity for more than a decade, will also be expanded to accommodate more students and offer state-of-the-art equipment."

According to Kathryn Sharbaugh, coordinator of the campaign, more than half of the campaign's goals have already been met through both private and corporate donations. The remainder of the funding is expected to be in place by the groundbreaking, which is tentatively scheduled for February 2004. The FIA, which is within the Flint Cultural Center campus at 1120 E. Kearsley St., will close to the public during the renovations. The Institute will reopen at its current location in 2005.

The FIA is the second largest museum in Michigan, featuring a collection of approximately 6,000 works of art.