Museum of Art for the Arts is Virtually Open

Funded by Corbis, the New International Institution Is a Place to Explore, Discover, Express and Discuss.

New York, NY, June 20, 2008 --(PR.com)-- After an aggressive construction project and rigorous artwork acquisition program, Corbis (www.corbis.com), a leading visual media provider for the creative community, today announced the grand opening of the new Museum of Art for the Arts (MofAA). The MofAA is a virtual museum at www.mofaa.org fictitiously based in New York City that is dedicated to being the foremost art and image museum in the world.

Through the leadership of its mostly imaginary Trustees and staff, the MofAA manifests its commitment to the arts by acquiring, preserving, and displaying collections of superior quality. The MofAA collections reflect past, current and future visual expression and transcend national and cultural boundaries. It’s also a great way to explore and have fun with the Corbis images that fill the museum.

The virtual three-story building perched high above Broadway in the Flatiron District of New York City houses the main collections and temporary exhibition galleries with 250 landmark works of art plus thousands of other images borrowed from Corbis’ world famous contemporary and historical collections. Much of the MofAA is also translated into English, French, German and Italian for visitors from around the world.

Each floor represents a different level of access for visitors. The first floor is general admission that is open to the public and features one exhibit. The second floor is open to members, or people who are registered with Corbis, and features additional exhibits and activities. The third floor, dedicated to benefactors, features additional exhibits and benefits for select clients.

Visitors to the MofAA enter into a multimedia experience with photography, paintings, audio tours and music, which is provided courtesy of Trackdown Music (www.trackdownmusic.com). There are also community features like blogs for exhibitions and a live newsfeed of the latest real and fanciful happenings in the art world such as recent art thievery and ‘suddenly’ discovered priceless works. New features and functionality will be added in the coming months to continue to enhance the experience and enable dialogue amongst visitors, including the ability for users to curate and share their own exhibitions.

“The MofAA is helping to create a greater sense of community amongst art enthusiasts who appreciate humanity’s enduring fascination with art and photography through the ages,” said Brooke Hendricks, the mythical President Emeritus of MofAA. “We invite everyone to wander through our galleries and engage in a series of open-ended arguments and counter-arguments that reflect the issues of our lives -- or just write funny comments about the pictures!”

Current exhibitions include “Tes One”, a contemporary artist blurring the lines between graffiti art and graphic design; “Music Legends”, featuring photographs of the some of world’s most famous artists; “Car Songs”, an ode to our love affair with cars; and “Music & Lyrics”, an inspiring mix of images that invite patrons to write their own title or lyrics.

The MofAA is the brainchild of FWIS, a New York City graphic design firm. Firm partners Ben Pieratt, Eric Jacobsen, and Christopher Papasadero built the MofAA to create a dialogue between the established and the avant-garde, the past and the present, in an environment that is responsive to the issues of contemporary culture, while being accessible to a public that ranges from the scholarly to the casually curious.

“Corbis’ collection is astoundingly deep and broad, and the images contained within it have profound impact on our culture – creative or otherwise,” said Christopher Papasadero, Creative Director, FWIS. “The MofAA highlights this imagery as a modern museum should - through well-curated exhibitions and public participation, on display."

About Corbis
Corbis is a leading visual media provider for the creative community, licensing the widest array of award-winning contemporary, historical and entertainment photography as well as extensive collections of acclaimed illustration and footage. Its imagery is seen everyday around the world in advertising, media, publishing and corporate communications. Corbis is headquartered in Seattle with 15 offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia that serve more than 50 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.corbis.com.

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Dan Perlet
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Corbis
+1-212-375-7355
dan.perlet@corbis.com

Stephen Sumner
Senior Account Executive
Weber Shandwick
+1-212-445-8475
ssumner@webershandwick.com
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Corbis Corporation
Stephen Sumner
212-445-8475
www.corbis.com
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