The “Together for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection” fundraising campaign ends
“I dedicated myself to my collection. A collection means hard work. It was what I wanted to do and I made it my life’s work. I am not an art collector. I am a museum”.
Peggy Guggenheim, in Peggy Guggenheim and Her Friends (Milan: Berenice, 1994)
Venice, July 29, 2021 - “Together for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection,” the fundraising campaign launched following the significant economic losses suffered during the first extended lockdown, has concluded. During the last year, the generous participation of those who responded to the appeal made it possible to raise over €526,000 and allow for a continuity of the museum’s activities. As soon as it was permissible, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni reopened its doors to visitors while the staff continued to plan new programs, such as online art history courses, the Overcoming project for those under 25 years of age, virtual visits of the permanent collection as well as of national and international exhibitions, and meetings with curators, scholars, conservation, and restoration experts.
Peggy Guggenheim said of her New York museum/gallery Art of This Century, “I hope that Art of This Century will become a center where artists will be welcome and where they can feel that they are cooperating in establishing a research laboratory for new ideas . . . in serving the future instead of recording the past.” It is thanks to the generosity of the large and loyal community of supporters, a fundamental part of the museum’s history, that today the museum can continue to serve the future with new ideas that can be a source of inspiration and nourishment for the spirit and the mind.
“We would not have overcome the difficulties encountered over the last year without the passion, dedication and generosity of all those who responded to our appeal,” said director Karole P. B. Vail. “We were happy to have been able to welcome the public back to Palazzo Venier dei Leoni when it was possible for us to reopen, and it filled us with hope to see how many enthusiastic people participated in our many digital initiatives while the museum remained closed. All of this was made possible because of the successful fundraising campaign and we sincerely thank those who believed in the museum and supported this fundraiser. ”