“VERY DIFFICULT TIME” FOR ART MUSEUMS; TWO NONPROFIT ARTS ADVOCACY GROUPS MERGE
The economy’s swoon is taking a particularly tough toll on art museums, according to the Wall Street Journal. The art boom of the past two decades, and the resulting skyrocketing costs of acquisitions and insurance, led museums to staff their boards with more than a few deep-pocketed executives from real estate firms, financial institutions, and hedge funds—industries that are now among the hardest hit. Plus, the tough times come at the tail end of a nationwide boom in museum expansions, and many of those glamorous buildings and new wings are not yet paid for. A handful of major institutions financed those expansions with bond issues that face the same climbing adjustable interest rates that are plaguing homeowners.
For some time, most museums have been betting that a golden age of giving was soon to end. But even institutions that braced for a downturn say the stock market’s decline, the bankruptcy or disappearance of major investment banks, and the liquidity crisis have made this one unique. “We know from history the bell curve of support goes down,” says Emily Rafferty, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “But as far as the corporate world is concerned, we’ve never seen anything like this current climate,” she says. “We need to navigate a very, very difficult time.”
In other news, Crain’s New York Business reports that two nonprofit arts advocacy groups—Americans for the Arts and Business Committee for the Arts—are merging, creating the largest such group in the private sector. The partnership will strengthen the organizations’ abilities to generate increased private-sector support for the arts and arts education by detailing for business leaders the economic impact the arts can provide. “The private sector’s relationship with the arts has shifted dramatically in recent years,” said Robert Lynch, chief executive of Americans for the Arts. “Despite recent modest gains in overall giving, the market share of private funding for the arts is nearly one-third less than it was in the early 1990s. By combining our interests and strengths, we will be able to effectively address the challenges ahead.”
Though the merger was in the works before the economic crises hit, executives at Americans for the Arts said it was even more important now for the groups to work together. The merger is awaiting final approval from the New York Supreme Court, which is expected to rule by March. At that time, Business Committee for the Arts will close its office in Long Island City, Queens, and move its staffers to Americans for the Arts’s location in midtown. No layoffs are expected.
