MIAMI ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS AND CUTS

Miami Art Museum announced this week that it has cut 10 percent of its operating budget for the current year by laying off three employees, imposing one-week furloughs on full-time staff, and reducing executive salaries and the number of temporary exhibitions planned for the coming year, reports the Miami Herald.

In an e-mail to museum members, museum director Terry Riley said the cuts were made to cope with the current global economic crisis but would not affect plans for a new, $220 million home in Bicentennial Park to be completed in 2012. Riley said the new museum project is on track to break ground this year, with environmental remediation taking place in October and foundations and footings being laid in March 2010. Among the cost-cutting measures at the museum, which reported about $7.5 million in total expenses for 2007, was a 5 percent reduction in salary for senior management and fewer temporary exhibitions, which will reduce expenses while drawing more attention to the museum’s permanent collection.

Riley’s letter noted that the museum would not reverse recent moves aimed at improving access to the museum for students and teachers, including waived fees for school-group tours and teacher workshops, as well as free transportation for teachers organizing field trips to the museum.