The year 2009 was an uncomfortable one for the museum world. One museum after another cancelled programming, cut staff, froze pay, limited visitors hours and increased admissions in an attempt to reduce expenditures and raise some income. None have been immune from trouble. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, for example, saw its cash and investments drop 23% while the investment portfolio of New York's Museum of Modern Art also shrank 23%. In February, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that its endowment lost over $700 million over the preceding 8months, resulting in the layoff of about 250 full-time and part-time employees. The Art institute of Chicago, which raised its admission fee to $16 from $12, the Philadelphia Museum of Art let go 7% of its staff and raised its fees from $14 to $16.
So what's a museum, with all its fixed costs, supposed to do at a time when people have less money to spend (or less confidence) to give? One solution may be to just give up. The Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo, Florida, the Claremont Museum or Art in Claremont, Ca. and the Las Vegas Art Museum all closed for good. North Carolina's Fayetteville-Cumberland County is on life support with $400,000 debt and its building for sale. Add to the list the Fresno Metropolitan Museum in Ca., which defaulted on a $15 million dollar loan is expected to close in the near future.
Another gripped by financial hardship is the Barnes Foundation.... All of this information is taken from an article by Daniel Grant and can be found in the Leisure Section of the Wall Street Journal's late December Edition.
This is the message many of us have been trying to give to the Administrator and County Board and community "movers and shakers); Peoria County, who will be the the owners of this still under-funded (from the git-go) Peoria Riverfront Museum scheduled to break ground in early 2010. The PRM will feature the Illinois High School Association Association, which pledged $2.7 million and the African-American Hall of Fame Museum, which pledged $12,000, along with the Peoria Historical Society who pledged------fill in the blanks, etc., an IMAX theatre although I am not aware of any contract signed. If there is an IMAX, will the IMAX structure to be considered "part of the building" the county would own? Guess I'll find out when I see the contract "Agreement reached on Museum Board" 12/24/09, JS, reporter Karen McDonald.
"We will be looking for the 'best and the brightest' from the community on this 17 to 22 member board". Wasn't it the 'best and the brightest' who got this country in the mess it's in with no strong positive outlook that the mess will ever be cleaned up??
No one on the County Board has asked what will happen to the current Lakeview Museum, the building with it's vault (the new PRM will not have a vault) being owned along with the land, by the Peoria Park District which Park Superintendent Noble wants to occupy as the Park District Headquarters. But only after the Children's Museum occupies the Pavilion. Last report, they were half way through their 4 year fund raising drive.
More news tomorrow on the rumored $6 million in New Market Tax Credits and if anyone now sitting on the PRM Committee will benefit financially in this tax payer funded bailout. (As rumored and rumored the NMTC were or will not be bid out).
Just as a reminder, a County document dated 10/30/08 , copy available, states that the "Museum folks have indicated that if the funding (for the museum) is not reached by July, 1, 2009, they would scrap the project."
Interesting, not?
This 7 to 8 year old project appears to still be a mess as our consultant, Mark Johnson called it a few months ago. Hopefully all the "messes" will be straightened out before the Peoria County Board accepts the contract to own and to.....?
No comments:
Post a Comment