In sad, but not surprising news The Minnesota Museum of American Art (MMAA) in St. Paul, Minnesota announced Friday that it is “temporarily closing its public exhibition space as of Sunday, January 4, 2009, and reducing its staff, accordingly.” The MMAA has been in transition since director Bruce Lilly resigned last summer after 11 years as head of the museum. Coupled with the loss of its current space to redevelopment in mid 2009 and the current economic climate, the decision was made to close the MMAA indefinitely. The situation for the MMAA is more complicated than a typically gallery closing due to its large collection. Staff will be retained to manage the collection while the museum is assessing its options. Hopefully a new home and sources of support can be found for the MMAA in the near future, but the closing of its doors, even temporarily, is a foreboding indication of current options.
This is the second mid-level art organizations to close its doors in the last few months. The Minnesota Center for Photography closed abruptly at the end of July citing the downturn in the economy as a contributing factor. I fear it won’t be the last. In the present economy most arts organizations will be forced to trim budgets while still trying to maintain the same quanity and quality of programming. On a positive note, tough times can also lead to a re-evaluation and refinement of current programing to better serve audiences. It could also be a time of opportunity for local artists. Museums, galleries, and arts organizations may turn to more local artists to fill exhibitions as travel and transportation costs rise for national and international exhibitions. It will be an anxious year for many organizations as they await funding from fellowships, grants and corporate sponsors. Hopefully most organizations will be able to adapt to the economic challanges in the coming year so that situations like MCP and MMAA becomes the exception instead of the trend.
That’s too bad.
I will miss the patio nights… they were my favourite.
Comment by Jaime Carrera — November 10, 2008 at 6:30 pm
This one is really shameful. I think you were kind to the City of St. Paul and Ramsey County in diminishing their role in this by deciding to sell the space out from under the museum. I’d say fundamentally the decision to pull support from the museum, which frankly, occupied a space St. Paul needed filled several years ago, during yet another of it’s cycling “renaissances”, speaks volumes about Ramsey County and its appreciation of a unique museum with a unique mission. With a shaky economy, where many of us who typically support museums are thinking twice about parting ways with discretionary funds, and the loss of longtime leadership, Ramsey County seemingly put hammer to coffin nail.
Here is a quote from the Strib. article on this matter, from which I am drawing my comment–but then there’s usually a deeper story than that which the boards tend to reveal. So my apologies to Ramsey, if they are not in fact the undertakers at this funeral:
“For the past four years, the museum has been housed in a former garage at 50 W. Kellogg Blvd., which it rented at a reduced rate from Ramsey County. Now the county has decided to sell the building. As a result, the museum was going to lose its exhibition site sometime in 2009, so the board decided to close, Kelly said.”
By TIM HARLOW and MARY ABBE , Star Tribune staff writers (Nov. 24, 2008)
Comment by Colleen Mullins — November 25, 2008 at 9:58 am
I was one of many former members of the Minnesota Center for Photography who was saddened by its closing, and I can only hope that the future is brighter for other organizations that have been important to me, such as In The Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre.
I was much more hopeful about the future of the arts in Minnesota after the amendment passed in November, but with the projected shortfall, there is talk that the additional funds will have to be used to replace programs cut by a legislature facing a huge deficit. Is there any hope that the money from this amendment will go to new grants and funding that might help the MMAA and other organizations?
Comment by Stephanie Rogers — January 9, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Stephanie: It’s funny you should mention the new amendment. As it happens, the very next issue of access+ENGAGE (mnartists.org’s twice-a-month e-mag) will cover just that topic. We’re doing a Q & A with the MN State Arts board about what’s happening now with those funds (when they’ll be available and to whom), how will decisions be made about expenditures (and who’s making them), rumors going around about those funds being siphoned off for other purposes (which, as I understand it, is a completely needless worry), accountability for how the money is spent, etc. All those things and more will be covered in the feature interview, set to go out 1/22, so watch your inbox.
Comment by Susannah Schouweiler — January 9, 2009 at 8:58 pm