Museums Explained



 

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Support

 

Admissions usually provide only a small fraction of the funds needed to maintain the mission of a museum. About 20% of museums' income from operations is derived from general admission fees. Government and private grant support in recent years has declined. Support from patrons is therefore more important than ever. Support your local museum. Volunteer service is also critical for museums to provide effective service in the community. As Tom Lidtke explains in his article on the intrinsic and unique value of museums:

Museums are truly priceless, but they are not free. They require our financial support. Most museums have always done a fine job of resource management, but today, museums like most other nonprofit organizations, have begun to examine if and how they can do better. They have to, or they will not succeed in their mission to serve the better good of society.
 
Recent problems with wasted tax dollars and the rapidly rising costs of some economic sectors has caused major donors and nonprofit granting organizations to be far more demanding when it comes to accountability, efficiency, value and results. This is a good thing. It makes these organizations, including museums better, but it takes time away from the core mission of the organization. That is a necessary downside.

 

Before making a major financial commitment

Individuals who are considering a financial commitment to a museum beyond annual giving may ask to see the museum's annual report. If there is minimal financial information in the annual report, donors can ask to see the Form 990 submitted annually by each nonprofit organization to the Federal government. The Form 990 contains financial statements, lists of trustees and key employees plus other operating information.

A commonly used source for retrieving a museum's Form 990 is GuideStar, a non profit organization which says on its web site "GuideStar's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving." (right: image courtesy GuideStar)

Another source for guidance in donation decisions is Charity Navigator. A quote from the non profit service's web site says: "Founded in 2001, Charity Navigator has become the nation's largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities. In our quest to help donors, our team of professional analysts has examined tens of thousands of non-profit financial documents. As a result, we know as much about the true fiscal operations of charities as anyone. We've used this knowledge to develop an unbiased, objective, numbers-based rating system to assess the financial health of over 5,000 of America's best-known charities." (right: image courtesy Charity Navigator)

 

Starting a museum

There is an increasing trend for philanthropists and collectors to start new private art museums in the United States. Persons owning a significant collection they wish to share with the public, along with financial resources and passion to foster appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts, may consider establishing an art museum. Even absent a collection and financial means, passion combined with vision, leadership, a well thought out mission and hard work will lead to establishment of an institution. Many communities can benefit from a new museum filling a specific and unmet need.

Often, collectors believe that their collections have greater value when kept intact and shown in whole. Government-owned or university museums may hesitate in accommodating these wishes. Some collectors considering establishment of private museums could have concerns that -- if they give their collections to public or educational institutions -- at a later date the museum might divest itself of parts of the gifted collection for profit.

A 2006 change in the US tax code regarding fractional giving of art works has also influenced giving behavior among collectors when they are considering options of donations to government-owned or university museums vs. establishment of private museums. Since tax codes change frequently, collectors are advised to obtain professional advice before making any contribution of art.

TFAO suggests viewing online:

Examples of art museums supported by a single benefactor

While not numerous, there are several art museums in the United States founded and primarily supported by a single benefactor or family. Examples are:

TFAO invites those who have established and operate museums with their personal financial support to share their experiences with the public in order to provide insight and encouragement to others considering that option. TFAO welcomes readers to enjoy the story of the establishment and evolution of The Irvine Museum in The Irvine Museum in Perspective; essay by Jean Stern, from the book "A California Woman's Story" (8/22/08)

 

An alternative: the lending-library model

In a Wall Street Journal article from April 4, 2008; Page W1, titled "The Firestorm Over Private Museums, Instead of donating their art, collectors are building private museums -- and roiling the art world," reporter Lauren A.E. Schuker says that "...collectors are forgoing donations and starting foundations that essentially serve as lending libraries, loaning out works to institutions around the world." She cites the case of Eli Broad of Los Angeles, CA, who has maintained a lending-library model since the 1980s. Ms. Schuker says: "Mr. Broad, who made his fortune building SunAmerica and KB Home, says the lending model allows the artworks to get more exposure. 'We created the lending library to show art that would otherwise be in storage,' he says. 'We see ourselves as the guardians of the works during our lifetimes.'"

For more on the topic of lending portions of collections, TFAO suggests reading Planning, Organizing and Touring Art Exhibitions

 

Books

There are a number of books published to help persons plan and organize new museums. Here are some titles:

The Manual of Museum Planning, By Gail Dexter Lord, Barry Lord. Published 2000 by Rowman Altamira. 480 pages. ISBN:0742504069. Google Books says: n essential resource for all museum professionals as well as trustees, architects, designers, and government agencies involved with the dynamic world of museums and galleries." Google Books offers an online Limited Preview

Organizing Your Museum: The Essentials (American Association of Museums) "Practical information and advice that trustees, volunteers, or staff need to know about starting a museum and successfully managing every stage of its development. This report addresses the questions you will need to consider to realistically assess the museum's chances for success. Included are sample bylaws, mission statements, long-range plans, job descriptions, collections management policies, and readings." - AAM (left: front cover, Organizing Your Museum: The Essentials. Image courtesy Google Books)

Starting Right: A Basic Guide to Museum Planning, 2nd edition by Gerald George (AltaMira Press / American Association for State & Local History) "For anyone not yet in the museum business, Starting Right will be a revelation. . . . This second edition of a fine introductory handbook answers questions many neophytes will not yet have considered. . . . This is a splendid book, enjoyable enough to take along to Starbucks for a lingering coffee. The chapters are short, and each provided with a useful reading list. The index is thorough, the illustrations relevant. Although the title suggests that the readers will be behind the scenes for the first time, many others will find it constructive."- Museline Google Books offers an online Limited Preview. (right: front cover, Starting Right: A Basic Guide to Museum Planning, 2nd edition. Image courtesy Google Books)

Towards a New Museum, by Victoria Newhouse. 208 pages. Publisher: Monacelli (March 1, 1998). ISBN-10: 1885254601. ISBN-13: 978-1885254603. Amazon.com Review: "Should art museums be designed to surprise and delight or to instruct and uplift? Should the museum building be a temple of art or an entertainment complex? Architectural historian Victoria Newhouse considers these and other questions about museums in her book Towards a New Museum. Newhouse examines dozens of art museums built during the 1980s and 1990s and describes how the buildings fit into the history of ideas about the proper function of museums. Some museums are like cabinets of curiosities, a hodgepodge of items the collector assembles to delight viewers. Other designers of museums strive to provide a neutral environment that does not distract viewers from the art. However, some architects believe that hanging paintings on white walls in galleries separates the art from its context. Architects and artists have grappled with these ideas and created some stunning and outlandish museums in recent years. Newhouse describes the sinuous, titanium-coated new Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the fractured forms of the Fredrick R. Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis. She writes about the artist Donald Judd, who bought most of Marfa, Texas, and made it a museum. These are bold and sometimes beautiful museums. Newhouse wisely includes plenty of good pictures and diagrams of each building. In different segments of the book, Newhouse discusses: private museums, museums that function as temples of art, museums devoted to one artist, and museums designed by artists. She also devotes a chapter to the unfortunate impact of museum politics on design. This chapter, "Wings That Don't Fly," illustrates some of the more vivid design disasters in recent history, including the "toilet tank" addition to the Guggenheim in New York. Art historians, architects, and people who are connected to museums will find this book an instructive, thoughtful overview of what's going on with museums today. --Jill Marquis" (text courtesy of Amazon.com)

Other suggested books

Crafting Effective Mission and Vision Statements, Emil Angelica, 2001 (67 pages).

Museum Job Descriptions and Organizational Charts, Mary Lister, 1999 (400 pages.) Sample job descriptions for various museum positions and sample charts to show flow of authority.

Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Bryan W. Barry, 1995 (72+ pages). A workbook for developing strategic plans.

Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook, Michael Allison, 1997 (287 pages)

 

Challenges

In an October 2004 article in Art Museum Network News titled "Defining Success in Art Museums," Maxwell L. Anderson, Research Affiliate at the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University expresses his opinion of the core mission of art museums:

I believe that art museums are first and foremost educational institutions. By that I mean that they are to their detriment places that privilege entertainment over learning. I further believe that the rewards of acquiring, caring for, publishing, interpreting, and displaying an art museum's permanent collection are more significant and longer-lasting than those of staging temporary exhibitions. And lastly, I believe that those museums that attract ample contributed income are healthier and artistically freer places than those that rely too extensively on earned income from tickets, merchandise, and events.

Dr. Anderson's words underscore a trend for some museums to take on attributes of entertainment centers, which he believes may prove disadvantageous to museums' long term health. He calls for museum leaders to develop "...new metrics of success that more accurately measure their museum's long-term health and relative standing. In order to be worthy of adoption, these new metrics must have three attributes: Be directly connected with the core values and mission of the art museum; be reliable indicators of long-term organizational and financial health, and be easily verified and reported."

In discussing a survey which addresses questions museums face, Dr. Anderson quotes from one of the survey questions defining a positive visitation experience: "...An intangible sense of elation -- a feeling that a weight was lifted off their shoulders; a greater appreciation of specific works of art or a period or movement; an improved understanding of why some artworks are more valuable than others; a desire to return to the museum in the not-too-distant future."

Without diminishing museums' multi-dimensional role to "...preserve, enhance, interpret, research and extend the reach of collections on behalf of society, provide public service through education, display of art works, scholarship and related activities..." TFAO agrees that accomplishment of these visitor outcomes will bode well for museums' mission fulfillment and long-term community support.

 

Museum associations

For information on the missions of museums in your state contact the museum association. State museum associations with web sites include:

Alabama Museum Association
Museums Alaska
Museum Association of Arizona
Arkansas Museums Association
California Association of Museums
Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums
Florida Art Museum Directors Association, Inc.,
Florida Association of Museums
Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries
Hawai'i Museums Association
Illinois Association of Museums
Association of Indiana Museums
Iowa Museum Association
Kansas Museums Association
Louisiana Association of Museums
Maine Archives and Museums
Michigan Museums Association
Minnesota Association of Museums
Mississippi Museums Association
Museums Association of Montana
Museum Association of New York
Nebraska Museums Association
Nevada Museums Association
New Mexico Association of Museums
The North Carolina Museums Council
Ohio Museums Association
Oklahoma Museums Association
Oregon Museums Association
Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations
South Carolina Federation of Museums
Association of South Dakota Museums, Inc.
Tennessee Association of Museums
Texas Association of Museums
Utah Museums Association
Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance
Virginia Association of Museums
Washington Museum Association
West Virginia State Museum Association
Wisconsin Federation of Museums

The national association is American Association of Museums.

 

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