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[[underlined]] Major Development Initiatives [[/underlined]]

After many months of negotiations, Eastman Kodak has declined sponsorship of the "Buried Mirror" television series about Latin America. This major blow to efforts to raise the $4 million needed for the Smithsonian's share of the ten-program series has driven the Institution to re-examine other possibilities for corporate support and consider alternative Latin American programming. In another development, the Quincentenary Commission in Spain has indicated that its promised $1.5 million contribution is to be regarded, in effect, as an investment for which it would expect to be repaid from any revenues generated; this issue is under discussion, though it is already clear the Smithsonian will not guarantee repayment under any conditions. The Smithsonian is working toward and end-of-March deadline to determine if this project will be able to go forward as originally conceived.

The "Information Revolution" exhibition at the Museum of American History has secured a $100,000 commitment from NCR, bringing total pledges to $1.7 million. Continuing to work toward a goal of $4.3 million, the Museum has had promising discussions with the Digital Equipment Corporation, Apple, Software, and Mead Data as well as several prospects overseas.

Efforts continue to place the National Portrait Gallery exhibition "A Century of Portraiture: 1885-1985" in Japan. One location in northern Japan has been secured and several others in that area are good possibilities. The Tokyo and Sapporo offices of the United States Information Agency have been very helpful, apparently compensating in part for that agency's cancellation of the original Chinese tour. Financial support is being sought in Japan, and the successful opening of the exhibition in Hong Kong last month should assist these efforts.

The Museum of African Art Campaign has been terminated. The $5.5 million goal suggested by the feasibility study proved unreasonable for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the reluctance of many self-described prospects to make pledges when they were solicited. The consulting contract with the Brakeley, John Price Jones Company was brought to a close in December, and development staff who were detailed to the campaign have returned to the central development office. In all, development efforts for the Museum during the past two years or so produced nearly $1 million, including Cafritz Foundation support for an opening exhibition ($250,000), and anonymous gift to name the library in honor of Warren Robbins ($200,000), and, within the past month, another individual gift of $250,000 arranged by Secretary Emeritus Ripley. The Museum intends to continue cultivating prospects identified during the campaign on a more deliberate basis.

With the apparently successful testing of Corning's experimental glass at the University of Arizona, that company will presumably become a potential supplier of materials for the new mirror of the Multiple Mirror Telescope. The only other manufacturer, a Japanese company, had not expressed interest in donating the raw materials for the mirror. It remains to be seen whether Corning might do so.