The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently has elected Colvin W. Grannum, president and chief executive officer of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, as its newest trustee. Grannum will serve on the board representing the Borough of Brooklyn.
His appointment was announced on September 8 by Daniel Brodsky, Chairman of the Metropolitan Museum.
"Colvin Grannum has committed his career to improving the quality of life in New York communities, and providing youth with an education in the arts has been a pivotal part of that commitment," said Brodsky. "We are very pleased to welcome him to the Board."
Since 2001, Grannum has headed the leadership of Restoration, the nation's first community development corporation. Grannum has long believed that the arts can play a valuable role in building public morale and civic pride, inspiring residents of low-income communities to look beyond their circumstances and aspire to excellence, both in their personal lives as well as on behalf of their community.
Under his guidance, the Center for Arts & Culture at Restoration has grown to be an oasis of creative arts in Brooklyn, attracting over 40,000 patrons each year and offering a rich array of programming across multiple artistic platforms, including music, theater, visual arts, film, the spoken word and dance.
Among its recent programming highlights was a 50-year retrospective of the works of Otto Neals, a Brooklyn-born sculptor who has dedicated his life to exploring the artistic heritage of the African diaspora and currently, Project Protest: The Art of Revolution, an 8-week-long exhibit that showcases how art, in all of its multi-disciplinary forms, can disrupt, elucidate, fire up and ultimately transform a society's direction..
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Grannum also earned a J.D. degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Before coming to the world of nonprofits, he enjoyed a long and successful career in public interest and corporate law. He serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Carver Federal Savings Bank, Bedford Stuyvesant Early Childhood Development Center, Inc., New York City Workforce Investment Board, and Center for New York City Neighborhoods.
He has served on the board of directors of the New York City Housing Development Corporation, and the advisory boards of New York City's Human Resources Administration and Department of Consumer Affairs. In addition, he is a convener for the Coalition for the Improvement of Bedford Stuyvesant, and a member of several advisory boards including JPMorgan Chase & Company and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group.
"With his many years of dedication to neighborhood development, Colvin Grannum brings an important perspective to the Board on how to better serve new and existing audiences, and I look forward to working with him," said Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Museum.
