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| NewsroomPast Press ReleasesRuby Hotel and Sapphire Lounge Contact: Kathleen Lynch, GVD Commercial Properties (509) 534-5805, Kathleen @gvdcommercial.com NorthwestMuseumof Arts & Culture Contact : Ben Mitchell, Senior Curator of Art (509) 363-5325, ben.mitchell@northwestmuseum.org Tinman Gallery Contact: Susan Bradley, (509) 325-1500, tinmanartworks@yahoo.com BRINGING THE VISUAL ARTS TO DOWNTOWN: A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE HOTEL RUBY AND THE NORTHWEST MUSEUM OF ARTS & CULTURE (Spokane, WA) In an exciting new partnership, the Hotel Ruby and the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) have embarked on a project to fill an intersection in downtown Spokane with giant images of performing artists, depicted by local artist Ric Gendron. Working closely with Tinman Gallery (representing Gendron), Hotel Ruby owner Jerry Dicker has installed five 30 foot high images of some of the most recognizable, popular performing icons of the last century on the side of his newly refurbished hotel. The hotel was formerly the Rodeway Inn at the corner of First and Lincoln. Hank Williams, John Lennon, T-Bone Walker and John Coltrane are now performing along Lincoln Street in an innovative display resembling giant canvasses mounted on the side of the hotel. A lifelong supporter and lover of both visual and performing arts, Dicker believes that the arts needed more visibility in the core of the city. His new hotel, located in the heart of the Davenport Arts District offers an opportunity too good to pass up. Dicker went to MAC Art Curator Ben Mitchell to view art in the MAC’s Art@Work program and was immediately entranced by the work of Ric Gendron. Gendron is a recognized local artist whose motifs are either Native American subjects or his favorite musicians. “With the Hotel Ruby so close to the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, the Knitting Factory and the Bing Crosby Theater, I really wanted to use art that would convey the power and excitement of performing musicians, “ says Dicker. “Ric’s work has the phenomenal energy and color I was looking for.” Mitchell said, “We were delighted that Jerry Dicker approached us to be part of his exciting concept of celebrating the performing arts through the visual arts. His revitalization of the Hotel Ruby and the installation of the huge reproductions of Ric Gendron’s beautiful vibrant paintings will have an immediate and positive impact on the neighborhood.” The installation of these paintings continues a lengthy process of restoration, refurbishment and remodeling for the Hotel Ruby and Sapphire Lounge. In addition, Dicker has spent months researching how best to reproduce Ric Gendron’s paintings on such a large scale and for an outdoor installation. Hotel Ruby’s mission is to provide a stylish, comfortable, value hotel with an artistic theme that complements Spokane’s Arts and Entertainment District. Ric Gendron is a registered Colville Indian who received a BFA from Cornish College for the Arts in Seattle after first studying at Spokane Falls Community College. He has regularly been accepted in major juried Indian Art Markets, such as the Heard Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum in Indiana. Gendron has just returned from this year’s Santa Fe Indian Market with a First in Division (Printmaking) and Best Print. This last spring he partnered with the Crow Shadow Institute in Pendleton to produce a limited edition series of prints from their famous presses. He has taught printmaking at Whitworth under a National Endowment for the Arts grant and is a member of the MAC’s Art@Work program. Ric has been represented by the Tinman Gallery since it opened in 2003. Planning is underway now for an illustrated children’s book in English and Salish to be published in 2011.
100 Curious ThingsExhibit enhancement opens September 1, 2010
Contact: Marsha Rooney, Senior Curator of History
Direct Phone: (509) 363-5309 Email: marsha.rooney@northwestmuseum.org
(Spokane, WA, August 16, 2010)The MAC’s new 100 Curious Things exhibit opens September 1 highlighting Spokane’s rough-and-ready history including Stagecoaches, Tramways, Newspaper Empires, Extravagant Architecture and Colorful Characters. Designed for everyone, this exhibition introduces the MAC’s use of a new technology, the PassPort to Discovery personalized exhibit content system, with computer equipment on loan from Mobius Spokane.
“The MAC is a museum experience for the whole family,” said Marsha Rooney, Senior Curator of History. “We want visitors to be excited about the MAC’s permanent collection of this region’s history, art, and culture and enjoy an innovative interactive museum experience.”
Each MAC visitor will receive a personalized badge with their picture. On-screen avatars will greet visitors by name and paraphrase exhibit content. Each touch-screen kiosk will encourage interaction to create an active and entertaining environment. Visitors get to answer questions and rack up points - high scores are displayed.
Each of the exhibit’s four interactive kiosks offers in-depth information on an aspect of Spokane history. “Stages West” highlights a first-person account from a Tekoa stage-coach driver. “Ink on paper” describes printing processes and key points of Spokane newspaper history. “Royal Riblet” describes Spokane’s colorful inventor of aerial tramways and ski-lifts. “Campbell House: Nuts and Bolts” gives a maid’s view of the operation of one of Spokane’s early mansions, and the MAC’s largest artifact (guided tours available).
“There are so many fascinating things families can learn about our local history,” said Charlie Simon, creator of the new PassPort technology. “The PassPort system is a great way to engage visitors and hear them say, ‘The MAC is fun!’”
The 100 Curious Things exhibit opening and gallery talk is Wednesday, September 1 at 6:30 p.m. (Note that this gallery talk is the first in the MAC’s new Wednesday Night at the Museum program.) Charlie Simon will relate his adventures in the computer world, his fascination with science at places like San Francisco’s Exploratorium, and hisPassPort to Discovery projects with MOBIUS and MAC. Laura Thayer, MAC Museum Program Manager, and Marsha Rooney, Senior Curator of History, unveil three new MAC digital and exhibit projects.
The three projects (100 Curious Things, Web exhibits, and Campbell House Visitor Center) are part of a long-term project called MACapedia a multi-platform museum experience linking visitors, scholars, and curators.
Spokane, WA (July 29, 2010)—The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Foundation was awarded a $5,000 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from thePacific Northwest Preservation Fund and Eldridge Campbell Stockton Memorial Preservation Fund. The seed grant funds will be used to hire an exhibit designer to complete drawings and begin installation of an ADA-accessible Carriage House Interpretive Gallery at the historic Campbell House (1897-1898, NR, SD, LD).
The Interpretive Gallery will include graphics, films, computer kiosks, hands-on activities, web exhibits, and educational curricula intended to personalized the restored Campbell House and expand experiential learning opportunities beyond a visitor’s house tour.
"Without organizations like the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Foundation, communities and towns all across America would have a diminished sense of place," said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "The National Trust for Historic Preservation is honored to provide a grant to the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Foundation, which will use the funds to help preserve an important piece of our shared heritage."
The National Trust for Historic Preservation dispenses small grants for local projects through the National Trust Preservation Funds grant program. The grants range from $500 to $5,000 and have provided over $5.5 million dollars of funding since 2002. They are awarded to nonprofit groups, educational institutions and public agencies, and must be matched, at least dollar for dollar, with public or private funds. Preservation Funds grants are being used nationally for such wide-ranging activities as consultant services for rehabilitating buildings, technical assistance for tourism that promotes historic resources and educating children about their heritage. These grants are often the deciding factor on whether historic buildings or sites can be saved for future generations.
For more information on National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Fund grants, visit: www.PreservationNation.org/resources/find-funding/grants/.
The MAC features some of the region’s most interesting contemporary art, American Indian exhibits and historical artifacts. An eye-opening experience inside and out, the MAC campus is home to six galleries , a 300 seat amphitheater, historic Campbell House, the MAC Café and Museum store. Visit www.northwestmuseum.orgfor complete information on tours, current exhibits and events.
About the National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.PreservationNation.org) is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories.
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Wednesday Night at the MuseumContact: Laura Thayer, Manager of Museum Programs
NorthwestMuseumof Arts & Culture (MAC)
Direct Phone: (509) 363-5308 Email: Laura.thayer@northwestmuseum.org
SPOKANE, WA– The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture is starting a new program that offers a wide range of reflective and forward looking conversations about contemporary culture, history, art and film in a social setting.
Wednesday Night at the Museum will pilot as a ten-month series, three Wednesdays a month, September 2010 – June 2011. Partnering with the American Institute of Archaeology/Spokane Chapter, Contemporary Arts Alliance (SpIFF), and Visiting Artist Lecture Series, the programs will feature artists, performers and scholars. The 6:30 PM start may include pre or post-program socials.
The Spokane International Film Festival board of directors says the MAC auditorium and campus is the natural home for our art and humanities series (previously on Sundays at the Magic Lantern).
“The MAC and these partners share a dedication to a dynamic regional cultural life," states Laura Thayer, Manager of Museum Programs. “Partnering to reduce the increasing costs of infrastructure and staffing and creating audience sharing and financial support enables arts and culture organizations to grow creative, robust and sustainable programs."
Visit www.northwestmuseum.orgfor program information and details.
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MAC, WSU to Collaborate in Plateau Cultural Center Management
Contact: Michael Holloman, Director of US Bank Center for Plateau Cultural Studies NorthwestMuseumof Arts & Culture (MAC)
Direct Phone: (509) 363-5337 Email: Michael.holloman@northwestmuseum.org
SPOKANE, WA – The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture and Washington State University today jointly announced a plan for the collaborative management of the MAC’s Center for Plateau Cultural Studies program and WSU’s Plateau Center for American Studies.
Under the agreement, Michael Holloman, director for the MAC’s Center for Plateau Cultural Studies program for the past nine years, will also become director of WSU’s Plateau Center for American Studies.
Ron Rector, Executive Director at the MAC, said the collaborative effort is intended to expand resources and opportunities for the American Indian Plateau student population and other ethnic groups. “Having Michael Holloman in this shared position with WSU opens up tremendous opportunities to expand cultural program and the collections for the Plateau Tribes and other diverse groups”, said Rector.
Recognized as one of the nation’s treasured American Indian cultural and historical resources, the MAC’s collection of 18,000 cultural objects represents peoples from all over the Americas. In addition to the vast collection, the cultural center houses a Sacred Room, workrooms for conservations, a U.S. Bank computer and information resource center and a gathering space for the traditional and cultural use of the collections.
A special recognition ceremony will be held at the MAC on July 29th to honor the new partnership and highlight the Museum’s new exhibit, Mestizo: Collections and Cultural Fusions, which will open July 31 and run through Dec. 4.
The exhibit focuses on the fusion of the indigenous peoples of the Americas since the beginning of the Spanish conquest of Central America and the southern region of North America more than 500 years ago. It explores how the conquest did not just create a hybrid of these two disparate cultures, but a unique singular identity known as “Mestizo”, a distinct blend of the two cultures.
Highlighted are a multitude of historic objects from the American Indian collections that focus on the Southwest, Mexico and Central America, including pre-Columbian materials, brightly painted Mexican masks and stunning religious artifacts from the era of early Christian contact with the indigenous peoples of these regions.
Admission to the MAC $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. Open Wednesday – Saturday, 10AM -6PM. http://www.northwestmuseum.org/index.cfm/Information_Pressroom.htm
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Escorting Miss TokushimaContact: Rebecca Bishop, Communications Manager
NorthwestMuseumof Arts & Culture (MAC)
2316 W First Avenue, Spokane, WA 99201
Direct Phone: (509) 363-5344 Switchboard: (509) 456-3931 Fax: (509) 363-5303
Email: Val Wahl, Museum Collection Curator val.wahl@northwestmuseum.org
The Doll Who Crossed the Sea
(Spokane, WA) The Tokushima Prefectural Museum in Japan has requested a “homecoming” of the MAC’s Japanese Friendship doll, Miss Tokushima, named for Tokushima Prefecture (similar to a state.) The year 2010 is auspicious as it marks the 150th year of official relations between Japan and the United States.* Miss Tokushima, an original 1927 torei doll, will be displayed for viewing at four different venues in Tokushima Prefecture between July and October. The title of the exhibit tour is “The Doll Who Crossed the Sea.”
When American missionary, Dr. Sidney L. Gulick returned to the US in the late 1920s after more than 20 years in Japan, the state of US-Japan relations greatly troubled him. He wanted to sow seeds of friendship in the open minds of children so he created a simple idea: the Doll Plan. In 1927, almost 13,000 American dolls were collected from across the United States and sent to Japan. Honored by this gesture, Japanese Viscount Eiichi Shibusawa commissioned skilled doll makers to create fifty-eight 32” tall, formal display dolls.
Many of the original 58 Japanese doll ambassadors have had homecomings. Instrumental with the Tokushima Homecoming committee is Michiko Takaoka, past director of the Japanese Cultural Center at Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute and Miss Tokushima’s biggest fan. Michiko and her husband have retired to Japan and been supportive in the arrangements to bring the doll home.
Museum standards require that the doll and her accessories be accompanied by a courier. MAC Museum Collections Curator, Val Wahl, is being assisted by Brooke Shelman (graduate level museum studies degree, UW). Brooke will escort Miss Tokushima and her formal tea ceremony set and represent the MAC at the host museum in Japan. Shelman will leave Spokane on July 12, returning July 16.
The 4 venues are as follows:
Tokushima Prefectural Museum
Sadamitsu YuYu House (Tsurugi Town)
Matsushige-cho History Museum (Matsushige Town)
Kaiyo-choritsu Museum (Kaiyo Town)
Although in very good condition, there will be an opportunity to have the original doll manufacturer do some work to stabilize Miss Tokushima. The MAC can then continue to display her in the original mission of goodwill between Japan and the US.
* In 1860, as the Tokugawa era drew to a close, the Kanrin Maru, captained by Kaishu Katsu, set sail for San Francisco, marking the first time a Japanese-piloted ship crossed the Pacific. 2010 is the 150th anniversary of this extraordinary but little known historical event -- the first official Japanese mission to the West following over 200 years of self-imposed isolation. The mission’s objective was to ratify the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, and it traveled through the U.S. establishing the foundations for business and cultural relations between the U.S. and Japan. Americans turned out in great numbers to meet the mission and on its final stop in New York City, the visitors were greeted with a parade on Broadway.
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Young Tribal Members’ Art CompetitionContact: Michael Holloman, Director of U.S. Bank Center for Plateau Studies
Direct Phone: (509) 363-5337 ? Switchboard: (509) 456-3931 ? Fax: (509) 363-5303
Tradition is My Life, Education is My Future
(Spokane, WA) This new exhibit at the MAC features the 2009 Native American Student Art Competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education. It is an installation of contemporary artwork from young tribal members throughout the nation. This competition was introduced to inspire students to consider the connection between their education and culture. Each year, this art competition focuses on themes that are inspirational, challenging, and a bridge to each student’s educational future.
Michael Holloman, Museum Director of U.S. Bank Center for Plateau Studies states that there could be a “true teachable moment for local school children who visit to recognize through the artwork that Indian youth are not just a vestige of the past”.
This Student Artist Competition receives over 1,400 outstanding entries from across 34 states and over 175 tribes and clans. The MAC is the only West Coast venue for this exhibit that will also be seen in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Oklahoma City.
Lead Exhibit Sponsor: Numerica Credit Union
Headline: MAC Opens Major Retrospective Exhibit
Contact: Ben Mitchell, Senior Curator of Art
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC)
2316 W First Avenue, Spokane, WA 99201
Direct Phone: (509) 363-5325 ? Switchboard: (509) 456-3931 ? Fax: (509) 363-5303
Email: ben.mitchell@northwestmuseum.org
Photos and captions available at http://www.northwestmuseum.org/index.cfm/Information_Pressroom.htm
Ruben Trejo: Beyond Boundaries, Aztlán y más alláMay 1 – November 13, 2010
Ruben Trejo: Beyond Boundaries, Aztlán y más Alláis the first major one-person exhibition of Trejo’s work in over two decades and features works spanning over four decades. There are over 50 objects in the exhibition including very early bronze works, brushed aluminum and wood sculptures; mixed media paintings and drawings that are rich with Trejo’s study of ancient Mayan and Aztec art and history. Also included are several of his welded railroad spike and nail codex works; and important sketchbooks, notebooks and studio ephemera that illustrate the artist at work. The exhibition opens at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane, Washington, May 1, 2010 and runs through November 15, 2010. Much of the educational materials that accompany the exhibit are bilingual.
Ruben Trejo—former Eastern Washington University Professor Emeritus and co-founder of EWU’s Chicano Education Program—was born in a Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB & Q) boxcar in the St. Paul, Minnesota, Burlington Railroad yards in 1937. His father, a mixed Tarascan Indian and Hispanic from Michoacán, Mexico, and his mother, from Ixtlan, Michoacán, Mexico had migrated north in search of employment. One of eleven children, he lived with his family in the boxcar for 19 years while his father worked for the railroad laying track. When he was growing up, the family spoke only Spanish in the home. He earned his B.F.A and M.F.A. degrees in Art from the University of Minnesota, the first in his large family to graduate from college. In 1973 Trejo moved to the Pacific Northwest where he began his long association with the Eastern Washington University from which he retired in 2003. Ruben Trejo passed away in the summer of 2009.
The Exhibition Catalogue
The University of Washington Press and the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture co-published a 160 page, fully-illustrated color catalogue with scholarly essays, a photo essay of the artist’s art and folk-art filled home and studios, and historical photographs and documents from throughout the artist’s life. The lead scholar is Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, former Associate Director for Creativity and Culture, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Stanford University. Professor Ybarra-Frausto is one of this country’s most respected and highly published scholars on contemporary Chicano art and culture. The additional authors are John Keeble, Eastern Washington University Professor Emeritus, a noted novelist, and friend to the Trejo family for over 30 years; and Ben Mitchell, Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture senior curator of art and the author of a number of bookson art and culture.
The Opening Day Celebration of the Trejo exhibit is May 1, 2010 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm. It will include a roundtable discussion, The Life and Art of Ruben Trejo, with the catalogue’s authors and Alfredo Arreguin, Lanny DeVuono, and Barbara Loste. Book signing and reception to follow. Cost for this event is a museum admission. MAC members free.
A special presentation and reading from the companion book is scheduled for Thursday, May 13 at 7:00 pm at Auntie’s Book Store, 402 W Main St. Featuring John Keeble and Ben Mitchell
The noted Northwest artist, Alfredo Arrequin said, “my dear friend Raymond Carver wrote ‘Late Fragment’ just before his death in 1988:
And did you get what
You wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
Beloved on the earth.
“Another dear friend, Ruben Trejo, passed away last July, 2009, and Carver’s poem applies to him. When I travel to Spokane to attend the opening of his exhibition at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, I will find in his work the DNA of his generosity, his immense talent as an artist, his presence as a selfless Educator, and his contagious sense of humor which will again make me smile, then laugh out loud with pleasure.”
Lead Exhibit Sponsors: Eastern Washington University Foundation, Spokesman-Review, Sterling Savings Bank, Johnston- Hanson Foundation
Headline: Living History Day at the MACContact: Ginger Ewing
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC)
Direct Phone: (509) 363-5311 Switchboard: (509) 456-3931Fax: (509) 363-5303
Travel back in time at the MAC’s annual Living History Day. Wander the MAC campus and enjoy performances and activities from days gone by.
The Town Crier will alert you of the Civil War and fur trapper re-enactors and demonstrations. Be hands-on and up close to fire trucks, mining technology, photography, and print making. Listen for drumming, cannons, and big band music. And, don’t miss re-living history by touring the beautiful Campbell House.
One highlight will be a fully restored 1912 battery driven Baker Coupe sitting along side the revolutionary Tango, a high-performance battery operated commuter car.
KPBX's Jazz Director and Producer of Big Band Era Jazz program, Brian Flick, will be displaying and playing records from the Big Band Era – check out the Victrola.
Author, Jane Fritz, will be available all day to discuss and sign her new book Legendary lake Pend Oreille - Idaho’s Wilderness Water. At 3:00 pm, Fritz and Francis Cullooyah, Cultural Program Director, Kalispel Tribe, will host a program with book readings and discussions about the early history of the lake from the Kalispel’s perspective. (n the Eric A. Johnston Auditorium at the MAC)
The Museum exhibits, café and store will all be open for visitors.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
11 am – 3 pm
Special $15 family admission
Free to MAC members
Living History Day is underwritten by Spokane Teachers Credit Union
Campbell House is OpenThe Campbell House is reopened in October 209 after a nine-month closure. This historic house museum, beloved by the public since 1926, is the largest artifact and most permanent exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC). Although state budget cuts precipitated the closure last January, the MAC board and staff have since expanded the volunteer corps and retained the education staff needed to coordinate its re-opening. The guided tour format is refreshed; public tours will be available at the MAC Admissions Desk; and school tours can be scheduled by contacting education@northwestmuseum.org. The house will be decorated for the holidays November 27, 2009 through January 2, 2010. During the months that this restored historic house was closed to the pubic, collection care and building restoration have continued; the exterior carriage house chimney and foundation restoration is nearly complete.
The Campbell House is an English Tudor Revival style dwelling, designed by renowned Spokane architect Kirtland K. Cutter. Located in Browne’s Addition, the Campbell House is adjacent to the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) and is the museum’s largest artifact.
Cutter provided the Campbells with a handsome exterior of stucco, sandstone, brick and heavy timbers. The large main house, an offset service wing, and adjacent carriage house were carefully designed to suit their particular functions. The restored interior and objects in the house assist docents telling the story of “Changing Times” during guided public tours, which begin in the Carriage House where a horse drawn carriage and an electric automobile symbolize the theme. Guided tours bring the Campbell family, friends, and household employees to life.
The first floor, on two levels, provides a sense of drama. To the right of the dark wood-paneled entry hall is a light, gilded French reception room where Grace Campbell received her visitors. To the left, the library’s dark wooden beams and inglenook fireplace provided a cozy atmosphere for informal evenings at home. Four steps lead to a large dining room with a fireplace surrounded by blue and white Dutch tiles. A deep veranda around the back of the house affords a view of the Spokane River below. Other features include a masculine “den,” or game room, well-planned service areas, and four upstairs bedrooms. Visitors are invited to admire the architecture, decorative interior, and imagine the lives of the Campbell family and other individuals as part of the history of the house.
Following Grace Campbell’s death in 1924, Helen Campbell (then Mrs. W.W. Powell) gave the house to the Eastern Washington State Historical Society in memory of her mother. Campbell House became a community museum, with historical and art exhibits. After a new museum building opened in 1960 on the Campbell House east lawn, the house began a return to its former “Age of Elegance.” From 1984-2001 a formal restoration project impacted all elements of the Campbell House complex: structures, landscape, interior design, technological systems, and furnishings. Today Campbell House operates as a house museum interpreting life at the turn of the 20th century. This October, the MAC staff and volunteers look forward to reopening the doors to the public.
The MAC is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (First Fridays open until 8 p.m.). Several guided tours are available between 11 am and 3 pm; Campbell House tours are included with Museum admission.
Contact:
Marsha Rooney, Senior Curator of History Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) 2316 W First Ave Spokane, WA 99201 Direct Phone: (509) 363-5309 Switchboard: (509) 456-3931 Fax: (509) 363-5303 Email: marshar@northwestmuseum.org MAC Announces Staff Reduction; Core Programs Preserved
SPOKANE, WA, June 4, 2009
The painful realities of the national economic downturn and the State of Washington's sobering fiscal challenges came home this week, as 16 employees of the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) were informed their positions have been eliminated in the 2009-10 budget. With a 24 percent decrease in funding and a people-intensive operation, there was simply no choice but to reduce staff.
Executive Director Ron Rector said "We are deeply saddened to lose the fine services of these dedicated employees, and we are of course concerned about the disruption to their families and careers. Each has given countless hours above what is required or expected. All will be truly missed.
"In facing the MAC's decreased budget, the board of directors sought to safeguard the Museum's core missions of preservation and education. That means most of the cuts were realized in support services. As a result, curatorial, education and remaining administrative staff are stepping up with creative ideas and approaches to fill the gap. We've been fortunate to see experienced volunteer leaders come forward to pick up essential duties. We continue to look for ways of decreasing operational overhead, always with the objective of protecting the MAC's core mission.
"Going forward, quite simply, we must all pull together to preserve the cultural treasure that is the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture. Everyone can play a part. I urge you to get involved. Become a member and visit often. Step up to help sponsor or underwrite one of our events or upcoming exhibits, which are increasingly focused on showcasing items from the MAC's own collections and archives. Bring your volunteer leadership and support to one of our committees or activities. I invite each of you to work with your MAC to ensure that when these tough economic times are history, our region's museum will emerge stronger than ever."
New Museum Hours Beginning July, 2009
SPOKANE, WA, June 4, 2009
The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) welcomes-in the summer season with new public hours. Beginning July 1, 2009, the MAC will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Although the number of days open has been reduced, the new scheduling allows exhibitions and programs to be available to the public for two additional hours each day. First Friday by Donation will continue, the first Friday of each month, 5pm-8pm.
This summer's blockbuster exhibition, Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television opens to the public June 6, with opening-celebration activities on Saturday, June 13, 2009, Noon to 4 p.m..
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