Corning Incorporated
Corning Incorporated Foundation
Corning, New York
 
Bestowed 1995

Corning Incorporated, established in 1851, began providing significant funding to cultural programs and arts organizations in 1952 when it established the Corning Incorporated Foundation. In 1994 the company and foundation allocated $5.1 million to the arts.

Corning Incorporated has benefited the arts, business and the community by:

• Opening its new World Headquarters in 1993, designed by Kevin Roche, and commissioning eight world-renowned glass artists to create major site-specific pieces for the new facility. Commissioned artists included: Peter Aldridge; Dale Chihuly; Rury Iwata; Stanislav Libensky; Jaroslava Brychtova; Donald Lipski; Bertil Vallien; and Dana Zamecnikova.
• Helping, in 1951, to create The Corning Glass Center, which houses The Corning Museum of Glass. The museum, which contains the most comprehensive collection of glass objects in the world, is an internationally-recognized resource for students, artists, scholars and collectors. Corning made a multi-million dollar grant towards the construction of the museum and continues to support its programs.
• Initiating and collaborating with other local businesses, cultural institutions and artists to support The Regional Cultural Plan, designed to enhance the quality of artistic and cultural life throughout the Corning and Elmira, New York region. The company also created the Corning Craft Artist Revolving Loan Project, which provides loans of up to $25,000 to craft artists who agree to establish their studios on or near Market Street, an historic district in Corning's downtown area.
• Supporting established and emerging arts organizations such as The Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. and the Metropolitan Opera, both in New York, New York; and Arena Stage, Washington, D.C. In 1981, Corning developed a model Adopt-a-Gallery partnership at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York.
• Encouraging Corning executives to serve on the boards of numerous arts groups. In addition, the company was one of the first to include cultural organizations in its employee matching gift program.