THE FLINT INSTITUTE OF ARTS' (FIA) MISSION IS TO ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF ART FOR ALL THROUGH COLLECTIONS, EXHIBITIONS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. THE FIA IS THE SECOND LARGEST ART MUSEUM IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN AND ONE OF THE LARGEST MUSEUM ART SCHOOLS IN THE NATION. EACH YEAR, MORE THAN 150,000 PEOPLE VISIT THE FIA'S GALLERIES AND PARTICIPATE IN FIA PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. FOR MORE THAN 85 YEARS, THE FIA HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR ACQUIRING, PROTECTING AND PRESENTING A COLLECTION OF ART AND ARTIFACTS SPANNING CONTINENTS AND 5,000 YEARS. THE WORLD RENOWNED COLLECTION, WHICH NOW EXCEEDS 8,000 OBJECTS, IS SIGNIFICANT FOR ITS DEPTH OF IMPORTANT EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES, 15TH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT, AND ITS EXTENSIVE HOLDINGS OF DECORATIVE AND APPLIED ARTS INCLUDING IMPORTANT ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY COLLECTIONS DATING BACK FIVE MILLENNIA. EACH YEAR, THE FIA PRESENTS AS MANY AS 13 EXHIBITIONS BOTH FROM OUR PERMANENT COLLECTION AS WELL AS TEMPORARY EXHIBITI