Anchorage Daily News

When Target moves into a community, arts types start salivating, and not because the store sells Milla Jovovich's one-shoulder tunics.

Weekly, Target donates $3 million (5 percent of its profit) in three philanthropic areas: education, social services and the arts. The corporation supported about 1,700 free days at museums and arts performances last year, according to Fortune magazine.

Target hosts its first local art event Sunday, waiving admission to the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

The center's educational focus aligns with Target's, said company spokeswoman Brie Heath.

"To us, the (Alaska) Native Heritage Center is an established organization in the community that is dedicated to educating younger generations on the Alaskan heritage and has demonstrated a tremendous commitment to preserving that heritage," she said.

Target will begin working with other arts organizations when its Anchorage and Wasilla stores are up and running, Heath said. Both stores are scheduled to open Oct. 12, the day after another free event at the Heritage Center. Local donations will depend largely on the profits of the local stores.

Several members of the Target-founding Dayton family were art collectors, so the company has always emphasized art and design in its products, marketing and philanthropy. The company philosophy is that art should be part of every day life.

On store shelves, that translates into $13 Michael Graves teapots and $20 Isaac Mizrahi pumps. In the retailer's giving, that translates into a commitment to increasing arts access and education.

Just look at a couple of organizations in Target's hometown of Minneapolis.

Target Free Thursday Nights at the Walker Art Center regularly draws 900 people in four hours, sometimes upward of 1,200, almost unheard-of traffic at a contemporary art museum. Once the financial barrier is removed, art can reach much broader segments of the community, said Marla Stack, the Walker's director of special projects fundraising.

Stack said Target is Walker's "most generous corporate sponsor by far" toward the art center's annual budget of $20 million.

Target's emphasis is on families, even when working with organizations such as the $28 million-a-year Guthrie Theater, where most of the programming is aimed at adults. Through Target-sponsored Play Dates, parents attend a discounted play while their children attend free related workshops on acting, movement and music.

Diane Brennan, the Guthrie's director of development, said Play Dates sell out fast. More than 500 children and their families took part this year.

Target also underwrites one Guthrie play a year, such as this summer's world premiere of a "Little House on the Prairie" musical. Brennan wouldn't get into specifics, but she said Target donated seven figures toward the theater's new $125 million building. In return, the new Guthrie is home to the Target Lounge, a swanky small-plate restaurant/bar.

Though Target plays favorites with its hometown, the corporation spreads its cash around in every community where it has stores. Usually, it partners with larger, more established organizations, such as the Seattle Art Museum, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

At the Alaska Native Heritage Center, staff is bracing for a particularly busy Sunday. Predictably, the center's employees have nothing but love for Target.

"They seem to be a very responsible community partner and I appreciate they want to become part of the community and support this community's arts," said Annette Evans Smith, the center's vice president for community relations and development.

"For us, they'll be a wonderful next-door neighbor."

Find Sarah Henning online at adn.com/contact/shenning or call 257-4323.

Mother's Day at the Alaska Native Heritage Center

Traditionally, the Heritage Center has offered free admission for mothers on Mother's Day. But this year, Target is sponsoring a free day for all. Here's what's going on:

• 9:15 a.m. Demonstration of Native games

• 10 a.m. King Island Singers and Dancers

• 10:30 a.m. Native dance lesson

• 10:30 a.m. Storytelling

• 11:15 a.m. Demonstration of Native games

• Noon ANHC Dance Group

• 12:30 p.m. Native dance lesson

• 12:30 p.m. Storytelling

• 1 p.m. Participatory Native drumming

• 1:30 p.m. Tlingit and Haida Dancers

• 2 p.m. Pamyua, world music

• 2:30 p.m. Storytelling

• 3 p.m. Demonstration of Native games

• 3:30 p.m. Storytelling

• 4 p.m. Imamsaut Dance Group

• 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday there also will be tours of the Native village sites and the indoor exhibits, as well as back-to-back films, including "The Reindeer Queen" and "Heartbeats of Denali." For a complete schedule, visit www.alaskanative.net

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