Greg Miraglia, Delaware Market Executive and Wealth Director at PNC, shares his thoughts on the importance of supporting art and community.
PNC is known for giving back to its community through grants for the arts and art education. Why is supporting the arts important?
Establishing and strengthening our relationship with the Delaware Art Museum makes sense when you consider that the arts encourage tourism and are a critical contributor to the economy. When you have a vibrant art and culture community, you attract people who might be looking to come into our state from another region.
That, in part, is why we’ve provided support through PNC Arts AIive—to ensure greater access to the arts and culture for all audiences. This initiative of the PNC Foundation represents a 15-plus year, more than $15 million commitment in grant funding for the arts and culture.
PNC Arts Alive funding has been critical to our presentation of powerful arts programming that reflects the diversity of our community, including our inaugural Powwow of Arts in Culture, our recent commission of local artist Shakira Hunt, and our jazz series. Can you share your thoughts on our ongoing partnership and how it is impacting our community in greater Wilmington?
The arts help us better understand the world in which we live, and the museum is at the heart of our local arts and culture experience. It brings so much to our community, bringing us even closer together. You can see this when you consider the exhibitions we’ve sponsored the last three years. They have all celebrated a wide range of cultures and put a spotlight on different ethnic groups.
Equally important, the museum’s programming takes a holistic approach—covering music, guest speakers, hands-on community activities and, of course, the exhibits themselves.
When you visit the Delaware Art Museum, you wouldn’t immediately expect it to be host to a wide range of activities beyond a featured exhibit. It’s a full experience—the grounds are beautiful and before you know it, you’ve spent the entire day.
Our hope for the future is that the opportunities to engage with and experience art continue and expand throughout the whole state.