Collections Head of LA Museum of Contemporary Art Leaves

The LA Times Culture Monster Blog is reporting that LA Museum of Contemporary Art director of collections and registration has left the museum. The Museum plans on having fewer incoming exhibits and therefore needs fewer registrars. The directors spot will be handled by three existing full time registrars. The loss of the director comes at a difficult time, just as the LA MOCA is planning for a major fall exhibition.

The LA Times states Plans for a greater emphasis on displaying the museum's own collection and for fewer imports of touring shows and exports of MOCA-originated exhibitions have "impacted" the number of registrars needed to do the work, she said.

MOCA recently announced its second round of layoffs this year as it aims to balance its budget after almost a decade of chronic deficits and a plummeting endowment. The museum also has canceled four planned exhibitions.

Museum registrars and collections managers typically are responsible for ensuring that all items are properly identified, catalogued and stored and that they are handled safely whenever they have to be moved. They update provenance records -- the history of where an artwork originated, who has owned it and where it has been displayed -- and supervise the shipping and receiving of works that are being loaned to other museums, or that have been sent as loans from other collections. The registrar's portfolio includes such specialized knowledge as being conversant with customs laws and the intricacies of insuring artworks in transit.

To read the full LA Times Culture Monstor post, click HERE.