Akron Art Museum Dealing with Economy

The Akron Beacon Journal recently ran a story by Katie Byard about how the Akron Art Museum is handling the declines in the economy and financial losses to its endowment. Many museums around the country are facing the same types of situation with shrinking endowments and fewer patrons. According to Byard, the Akron museum will not close on Tuesday, lay off staff, reduce the hours of others and reduce the number of exhibitions from the usual amount of 15 to 8 or 9 per year. Now, this article and post might initially look like a gloom and doom report, but I look it it differently. I see a museum that has hit some difficult times, and is now being proactive with dealing the situation. The museum does not appear to be panicking, but it is reducing overhead, exhibitions, and hours in order to survive these difficult times in order to be around for better times.

Byard states The museum's endowment, which last year funded about one-quarter of the site's operating expenses, dropped from more than $23 million at the beginning of last year to about $17.3 million by Dec. 31. The museum — like other cultural institutions — also is taking a hit in grants.

The ''stock market crash has had an enormous effect on the foundation community that funds arts and culture,'' Kahan said. ''They all have less money to give out.''

Kahan said one foundation informed the museum it will not take applications for 2009 funding. Corporations also are scaling back their donations, he said.

The cuts come less than two years after the completion of the museum's $35 million expansion, which added a gleaming glass/metal/concrete structure alongside its 1899 brick home.

With the expansion came increased operating costs, Kahan
said.

''We tripled the size of the building and doubled the budget,'' he said. ''Now, unfortunately for us, the recession started six months after we did that.''

To read the article, click HERE.