The Foreign Service Journal, October 2009

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 73 served overseas as spouses of ambassa- dors. They, along with co-founder Lee Kimche McGrath, had seen the need for more permanent American art in U.S. ambassadorial residences, but their vi- sion soon widened to include all official American buildings overseas. FAPE fo- cuses largely on commissioning works fromcontemporaryAmerican artists— works that are specifically designed to become a permanent part of a particu- lar space. The foundation has expanded, do- nating American works of art to more than 70 countries, and is currently fund- ing site-specific installations through its Art in New Embassies program in Kingston, Mumbai, New York, Beijing and Guangzhou. Other programs opened by FAPE include the Leonore andWalter AnnenbergAward for Diplo- macy through the Arts and the Lee Kim- che McGrath Original Print Collection. In 2001, FAPE assembled an un- precedented collection called “Gift to the Nation”comprised of 245American artworks representing more than 145 artists. These works have been placed in permanent locations in embassies around the world. “FAPE is unique,” says Director Jen- nifer Duncan. “As a nonprofit support- ing a government agency, it is able to provide the State Department with per- manent, monumental works of art, without spending public funds, thanks to the generosity of FAPE’s artists and private American citizens.” FAPE also provides financial support for restoration projects, such as preserv- ing the ancient statues on the embassy grounds in Rome and refurbishing the Marshall Center, which once served as the headquarters of the Marshall Plan, in the 18th-century Hotel de Talleyrand in Paris. FAPE carefully selects artists when commissioning contemporary artwork, collaborating with an architectural proj- ect team fromOBO to locate an appro- priate space for the permanent installa- tion. One current project is a giant mural by Dorothea Rockburne that is being readied for shipment to Embassy Kingston. The work, depicting the night sky, honors former Secretary of State Colin Powell, whose family hails from Jamaica. Although their organizational struc- tures are different, AIEP and FAPE are alike in one important way: each has found a unique way to engage in diplo- macy through the arts. Says Duncan: “Art is a universal language that tran- scends borders. Our gifts enhance our nation’s presence overseas by affording people from other countries insights into our cultural traditions.” Next time you find yourself at the ambassador’s holiday party or wander- ing through the gardens of an embassy compound, you may want to point out the art exhibits and sculpture installa- tions to international guests. A lot of thought, time and funding, as well as hard work from the folks at both AIEP and FAPE, go into our nation’s “visual diplomacy.” For more information on the Art in Embassies Program, please visit http://aiep.state.gov. To find out more about the Founda- tion for Art and Preservation in Em- bassies, please go to www.fapeglobal. org. ❏ A F S A N E W S Elyn Zimmerman, “Mkusanyiko wa Marafiki/Assembly of Friends,” 2004, African red granite. Gift of the artist to U.S. Embassy Dar es Salaam through FAPE. Works by American and Chinese artists dazzle visitors and employees alike in the Embassy Beijing atrium. Russell Crotty, three spheres, 2004, pencil, paper and mixed media on Lucite: “Sands of Time,” 48” diam., “Looking for Baade’s Widow,” 36” diam., “Western Skies,” 72” diam.; Cai guo-Qiang, “Eagle Landing on Pine Branch,” 2007, gunpowder on paper mounted on five-panel screen (bottom left); Qin Feng, “West Wind East Water,” 2006, oil on canvas (bottom right). ART IN EMBASSIES FOUNDATION FOR ART AND PRESERVATION IN EMBASSIES