VW Ties the Knot with NY Modern Art Museum

Since someone told car makers that partnering with museums across the world can do wonders for their business, we've seen a flood of announcements that presented a mixture of otherwise two non-related worlds.

Tied up in the preparations that will lead to the opening of the Chattanooga plant this week, German manufacturer Volkswagen found the time to announce a partnership with New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The goal of this partnership: the creation of an international contemporary art exhibition.

The Volkswagen involvement in the project that momentarily is known as International Discovery means that the works that will be presented by the museum in 2013 will be focused on environmental protection, social justice, scarcity of resources, or population growth. Meaning exactly the things that don't make up VW's main area of expertise...

The partnership will also be the starting point of an online education program centered on modern art. But most importantly for MoMA, VW will donate money, as well as some art it possesses.

"Artists give us food for thought and let us look at the world from new angles. MoMA is one of the world's leading institutions in the field of contemporary art. With its persuasive expertise and its educational mission, it is our partner of choice. This partnership expresses our corporate commitment to take responsibility for the environment and for society," said Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen CEO.

Separately, VW announced on Monday that it's kicking off the Think Blue campaign in the US, in an attempt to draw the American public into the corporate responsibility game the German group is now playing.