When an embassy becomes an art gallery (FT article, Jan. 2016) https://www.ft.com/content/13f85976-b497-11e5-b147-e5e5bba42e51

But there is another organisation flying the flag overseas for the US with its own brand of cultural diplomacy.

The non-profit [Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (Fape) http://www.fapeglobal.org/about-us/about-fape/. How are FAPE's artists selected? From their website 'A volunteer advisory committee chaired by Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale School of Art, selects and commissions all FAPE artists.'

Founders of FAPE:

Leonore Cohn Annenberg of the Annenberg Foundation.**

• Obama's Lost Annenberg Years Coming to Light https://archive.is/Q9qwa

• Annenberg Foundation's collaboration with CNN Heroes https://www.annenberg.org/annenberg-now/annenberg-foundation-trains-2012-top-10-cnn-heroes-first-time-through-annenberg

Wendy W. Luers, founder and President of The Foundation for a Civil Society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Luers

• Married to Ambassador William H. Luers is the Director of The Iran Project. [What is and Isn't the Iran Project? https://archive.is/x21Me]

• She is also involved with Middle East Children’s Institute http://www.mecinstitute.org/

In February 2016, Storr stepped down as Dean of the Yale School of Art and was succeeded by Marta Kuzma https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/arts/design/robert-storr-is-stepping-down-as-dean-of-yale-university-school-of-art.html. In this article about Kuzma http://news.yale.edu/2016/02/09/renowned-curator-marta-kuzma-named-dean-yale-school-art:

Previously, Kuzma served for eight years as director of the Office for Contemporary Art Norway, where she established an internationally recognized, research-based program of exhibitions, lectures, seminars, and projects. Kuzma was the founding director of the Soros Center for Contemporary Art in Kiev, Ukraine; served as artistic director of the Washington Project for the Arts, in Washington, D.C.; and as head of the international exhibitions program at International Center of Photography in New York City.

US State Department spends $1 MILLION on a single granite sculpture to decorate new embassy in London (2013 article) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2517666/US-State-Department-spends-1-MILLION-single-granite-sculpture-decorate-new-embassy-London.html

So they use art auctions for money laundering. Does anyone think maybe they get paid ridiculous fees for public speaking for the same reason?

I just did a Google search on the art of Kiki Smith (as she was one of the artists featured in the article). No surprises at the themes and imagery found: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=kiki+smith+art&espv=2&biw=1229&bih=589&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnk9Scq7_RAhVJExoKHfQ0C0cQ_AUIBigB

We know that Alefantis is heavily involved with Transformer DC. They have collaborated with a number of embassies and here is another example where they worked together with the Swedish embassy through the Art in Embassies program: http://www.swedenabroad.com/en-GB/Embassies/Washington/Current-affairs/Events/EXHIBIT-Hej-at-Transformer-Gallery-sys/.

Might this be another reason why he is considered such a powerful figure in Washington ?