The Birmingham Museum of Art has received two gifts totaling $3 million for the endowment of two critical museum positions.
Dora and Sanjay Singh provided $1.5 million in funding for the director of learning and engagement at the BMA, and the Hugh Kaul Foundation has awarded the museum a grant of $1.5 million to support the role of chief financial officer. The financial gift was given in honor of the late finance executive and arts benefactor Corbin Day.
“Both the Singhs and Corbin Day have worked tirelessly to build the institution as it stands today, so to have their dedication to the visual arts reinforced by these transformative gifts is truly inspiring,” Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, the R. Hugh Daniel director of the Birmingham Museum of Art, said in an announcement this week. “We are profoundly grateful for the generous support of the Singhs and the Hugh Kaul Foundation, which underscores the steadfast commitment of leaders within our own community to ensure the success and legacy of the Birmingham Museum of Art.”
Dora and Sanjay Singh have been actively involved with the BMA for more than two decades, placing a special emphasis on education. In 2010, Dora and Sanjay founded the Indian Cultural Society (ICS), a museum support group established to promote all forms of Indian art and culture.
Through the Indian Cultural Society, the Singhs have organized museum-sponsored trips to India, acquired substantial works of Indian art, sponsored original exhibitions and provided dozens of engaging programs. The Holi Festival, an event celebrating the arrival of the spring season, is now in its 11th year and attracts nearly 3,000 visitors annually.
The Singhs’ financial contributions have allowed the museum to offer exhibition labels and educational materials in both English and Spanish languages. Sanjay Singh, an active and longstanding museum board member, recently assumed the role of board chair of the Birmingham Museum of Art.
“Education, learning, and art are Dora’s and my shared passions,” Sanjay Singh said in the announcement. “The Birmingham Museum of Art is the crown jewel among Birmingham’s cultural institutions, providing world class art and education to its visitors for more than 70 years. The opportunity to combine our interests, by supporting the Director of Learning and Engagement at the BMA, is a gift to the Singh family. We are grateful to the BMA and look forward to an intergenerational relationship with this outstanding museum.”
The Dora and Sanjay Singh director of learning and engagement leads the team that makes possible the museum’s broad spectrum of free-of-charge public programs and gallery tours, community outreach initiatives, advancements in accessibility, and the creation of digital platforms that bring the BMA to visitors worldwide.
The Birmingham-based Hugh Kaul Foundation will provide $1.5 million through a grant in honor of longstanding BMA supporter, the late Corbin Day, with support for the newly-titled H. Corbin Day chief financial officer.
Over several decades, Day invested his time and resources to cultivate the landscape of the visual and performing arts in Birmingham, and to ensure their continued vibrancy. Day served on the boards of both the museum and Art Fund, Inc., with a specific focus on the financial health of the institution.
“An active community philanthropist, Hugh Kaul was also a longtime supporter of the BMA,” said Maye Frei, a Hugh Kaul Foundation board member. “The members of the Hugh Kaul Foundation are delighted to honor the legacy of fellow foundation committee member, Corbin Day, in a way that celebrates his love of art, his commitment to Birmingham, and his financial acumen.”
According to the museum, the H. Corbin Day chief financial officer will oversee all financial activity of the BMA and will work with related 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations including endowments, foundations and acquisition organizations.