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• Tobacco Firm Will Slash Its Arts Funding  

On January 31, the board of the Altria Group — the parent company of Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International — will announce the exact timing of its spin-off of Kraft Foods, the first stage in a large corporate restructuring. What this has to do with the arts landscape in New York City might not be immediately clear — until one looks at the list of cultural organizations that Altria has supported, and which may not continue receiving support once its individual operating companies control the philanthropic purse. At the top are the Whitney Museum ($557,000 in 2005), the Brooklyn Academy of Music ($389,000), the Brooklyn Museum ($345,000), Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts ($272,000), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ($305,700), the New Museum of Contemporary Art ($210,000), New York City Opera ($265,000), El Museo del Barrio ($313,500), Dance Theatre Workshop ($194,105), and Shakespeare in the Park ($100,000).

A spokeswoman for Altria, Lisa Gonzalez, said that approximately 56% of the 272 arts organizations that have received grants in the past will receive them this year. Some have already been informed that they won't be receiving further grants; others are waiting to hear in the coming months. That is only the short-term, however. Organizations like BAM, which has had a 25-year history with Altria/ Philip Morris, are contemplating a long-term future in which the parent company may cease to exist.

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The Whitney Museum's spokeswoman, Jan Rothschild, on the loss of arts funding when ALtria splits its companies.