Miuccia, Patron of the Modern Arts

The New York Times' Michael Kimmelman wrote an excellent article about Miuccia Prada as art patron. Prada has established a foundation that annually commissions two large-scale, ambitious works from great contemporary artists, such as John Baldessari and Nathalie Djurberg, who would not normally have the money or opportunity to create such works. Rather than simply buying up art to amass a collection of trophy works, which she could easily do, Prada encourages artists to produce new art. As collectors on a much smaller scale, we may not have the money to become patrons at this level, but
I think we have an obligation to support artists beyond simply buying art. We can become part of the creative process by thinking of small creative ways to provide artists with the resources they need to create.m