The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., has received a donation of $2 million from trustee Joleen Julis and her husband Mitch Julis. This is, according to the museum, the “single largest individual donor gift in the museum’s history.” The money will go toward establishing the “Future Fund,” a $4 million fundraising initiative aimed at redesigning the museum’s public spaces, in particular the lobby and the Hirshhorn’s sculpture garden. The money will also be used for “increased integration of technology into public programming.”
In a statement, Melissa Chiu said, “[T]he Hirshhorn seeks to become a creative hub at the intersection of art and technology and to lead global conversations on the art of our time. It is the support of people like Joleen and Mitch that enables us to move forward with these goals.”