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01-15-2009, 12:29 PM
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, like other museums across the U.S., is being forced by the bad economy to make some painful choices.
Among other budget-trimming moves, the Nelson will reduce its 175-person work force by 20 to 25 people by the end of the month, museum director/CEO Marc Wilson said Tuesday.
The job cuts, intended to save the museum about $900,000 this year, represent a little less than half of a 10 percent reduction in operating costs made necessary by shortfalls in revenue, Wilson said.
The other half will come from day-to-day operations, continued savings from cutbacks in hours and some programming cutbacks.
“We are caught in a mess not of our making and I frankly resent that,” Wilson said. “Downsizing is not a goal; it is a strategy to make sure that this wonderful institution remains strong to fulfill its mission and goals of service to the public.”
Staff reductions on this scale are unprecedented at the Nelson, Wilson said.
“When you put together a great team this is very painful and personal,” he added. “In order for the institution to stay strong, this is what you have to do.”
In 2007 the Nelson opened its new Bloch Building — to great critical praise, but also increased expenses for lighting, heating and staffing the 165,000 square-foot addition.
The Nelson’s endowment, which was valued at $400 million at the end of 2007 and provides slightly more than half of the museum’s income, is down about 30 percent, Wilson said.
Corporate sponsorship, which helps fund short-term programs such as lectures and special exhibitions, is “dramatically off.”
On the plus side, he said, upper-level membership giving is actually up, and corporate memberships in the museum’s Business Council are stable.
But earned income, generated by parking fees, special exhibition admission fees, and the museum’s restaurant and shop, is also falling short of projections.
“These figures are impacted by museum attendance,” Wilson said. “The public is not responding to the expanded museum the way past indicators suggest.”
Total attendance for 2008 was 362,000; 20 years ago, the museum averaged a base attendance of 350,000. Compounding the income problem, Wilson said, people who are visiting the museum are spending less.
The museum has asked its staff for voluntary separations by today, and will identify additional positions if that number falls short of the $900,000 goal, Wilson said.
“We have to seek large amounts from upper level salaries,” he said. “It is important for the future we’re composing that we preserve those positions of highly accomplished or rare expertise.”
The job cuts will be part of a major staff restructuring, Wilson said, which will maintain the museum’s core values and mission, but will make it more “agile, nimble and adaptable.”
He does envision some new jobs emerging from the restructuring, possibly an audience development person.
The current reduction in force follows several earlier cost-cutting measures.
Last fall, the museum discontinued Tuesday public hours and cut back the lighting of the Bloch Building lenses by 14 hours per week. It raised the building temperatures and reduced the hours of the Bloch Building cafe to two per week.
Fiscal considerations also prompted a recent decision not to take “The Third Mind,” a special exhibit organized by the Guggenheim in New York, that the Nelson had planned to show in September.
Among other budget-trimming moves, the Nelson will reduce its 175-person work force by 20 to 25 people by the end of the month, museum director/CEO Marc Wilson said Tuesday.
The job cuts, intended to save the museum about $900,000 this year, represent a little less than half of a 10 percent reduction in operating costs made necessary by shortfalls in revenue, Wilson said.
The other half will come from day-to-day operations, continued savings from cutbacks in hours and some programming cutbacks.
“We are caught in a mess not of our making and I frankly resent that,” Wilson said. “Downsizing is not a goal; it is a strategy to make sure that this wonderful institution remains strong to fulfill its mission and goals of service to the public.”
Staff reductions on this scale are unprecedented at the Nelson, Wilson said.
“When you put together a great team this is very painful and personal,” he added. “In order for the institution to stay strong, this is what you have to do.”
In 2007 the Nelson opened its new Bloch Building — to great critical praise, but also increased expenses for lighting, heating and staffing the 165,000 square-foot addition.
The Nelson’s endowment, which was valued at $400 million at the end of 2007 and provides slightly more than half of the museum’s income, is down about 30 percent, Wilson said.
Corporate sponsorship, which helps fund short-term programs such as lectures and special exhibitions, is “dramatically off.”
On the plus side, he said, upper-level membership giving is actually up, and corporate memberships in the museum’s Business Council are stable.
But earned income, generated by parking fees, special exhibition admission fees, and the museum’s restaurant and shop, is also falling short of projections.
“These figures are impacted by museum attendance,” Wilson said. “The public is not responding to the expanded museum the way past indicators suggest.”
Total attendance for 2008 was 362,000; 20 years ago, the museum averaged a base attendance of 350,000. Compounding the income problem, Wilson said, people who are visiting the museum are spending less.
The museum has asked its staff for voluntary separations by today, and will identify additional positions if that number falls short of the $900,000 goal, Wilson said.
“We have to seek large amounts from upper level salaries,” he said. “It is important for the future we’re composing that we preserve those positions of highly accomplished or rare expertise.”
The job cuts will be part of a major staff restructuring, Wilson said, which will maintain the museum’s core values and mission, but will make it more “agile, nimble and adaptable.”
He does envision some new jobs emerging from the restructuring, possibly an audience development person.
The current reduction in force follows several earlier cost-cutting measures.
Last fall, the museum discontinued Tuesday public hours and cut back the lighting of the Bloch Building lenses by 14 hours per week. It raised the building temperatures and reduced the hours of the Bloch Building cafe to two per week.
Fiscal considerations also prompted a recent decision not to take “The Third Mind,” a special exhibit organized by the Guggenheim in New York, that the Nelson had planned to show in September.