Look Magazine
USA, Iowa, Des Moines, September 28, 1937
Private Collection, H x W: 34.1 × 26.6 cm
You did it, yogsters! About 600 of you generous donating souls helped raise more than $170,000 for the Smithsonian’s ”Yoga: The Art of Transformation” – with a bit of help from Whole Foods who matched donations and gave a total of $70,000.
The Smithsonian’s first ever crowdfunding campaign began May 29th with a funding goal starting at just (just) $125,000. When the deadline arrived on July 1, they had already surpassed that at $129,000 and decided to extend the campaign for another week. Apparently, that’s when all the wealthy yoga fans decided to jump on board, raising the total another $40k in just a few days.
The exhibit which is set to open at the Sackler Gallery October 19th was to go on regardless of the extra money. So what will they do with all that dough?
The galleries’ Head of Public Affairs and Marketing, Allison Peck, explains:
For example, the outpouring of financial support will fund an opening celebration for the exhibit on Oct. 26 that will be open to all online donors. The festivities will including classical Indian music performances, hands-on art workshops, curator-led tours, yoga classes and a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony, according to Peck.
Sounds like fun. Though that’s a lot of money for a party. We’re looking forward to what else they have in store. (Update: We hear from Allison that a portion of the money will go towards bringing the items to the gallery and keeping them safe, as well as funding concerts and kids programming.)
But overall, that fundraising got you pretty darn excited about the 130 objects from the past 2,000 years of yoga history, didn’t it? That seems to be the main point.
“It’s been a really great way to reach out to people and remind them that we need their support to put on these exhibitions,” she [Peck] said. “And it’s been a really wonderful way for people to get together to demonstrate how much they want this to happen.”
The “Yoga: The Art of Transformation“ exhibit will be on view at the Sackler Gallery from October 19, 2013 to January 26, 2014. Following its Washington, D.C., debut, “The Art of Transformation” will travel to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum (Feb. 21–May 25, 2014) and the Cleveland Museum of Art (June 22–Sep. 7, 2014).
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