Articles + Reviews - INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP
Feature: Institutional Leadership: Museums on Collecting.
Moore, Claire. "Institutional Leadership: Museums on Collecting" Cantanker. (Fall 2006)
A comprehensive exploration of collecting in Austin must take into account the role major institutions, such as the Austin Museum of Art (AMOA) and the Blanton Museum, play in providing access, education and ongoing support for the visual arts in our community. We sat down with some of the key players (the Blanton's Curator of American and Contemporary Art, Annette Carlozzi, the AMOA's Chief Curator/Executive Director, Dana Friis-Hansen, and the AMOA's Director of Exhibitions and Education, Eva Buttacavoli) to get a sense of how local museum's develop their permanent collection and support the local art market.
Becoming Austin's Museum of Art
In 2004, after assessing the needs and aims of the museum, the AMOA created a three year plan that set the course for the museum's fiscal and philosophical development. Throughout our discussion both Dana Friis-Hansen and Eva Buttacavoli emphasized the museum's focus on becoming “Austin's Museum of Art” with a clear vision of building community ties through in-depth education programs and outreach initiatives designed to heighten public access and involvement in the arts. With four exhibition slots per year, and one-hundred percent of the museum's gallery space dedicated to temporary exhibits, the museum custom tailors its schedule to meet the needs and interests of the community through four targeted areas: one person surveys of historical figures, explorations of thematic topics, in-depth reflections on mid-career Texas artists, and regular updates on emerging art within 50 miles of the state capital.
Though current funds for acquisitions are limited, as the groundwork is laid to establish a strong financial base and permanent location at 4th street and Guadalupe, the museum continues to acquire work through purchases and donations. 10% of the dues generated from Directors Circle membership levels ($1000 and above) are ear-marked for acquisitions. As a sign of appreciation, and with a vested interest in developing partnerships, the museum invites members at this level to take an active role in the process. During the annual “Directors Circle Art Acquisition Party” each fall this group has the opportunity to vote on an assortment of works proposed by the museum's curatorial team.
Works considered for this pool, ultimately the permanent collection, are selected with the following criteria in mind: the relationship of the work to the exhibition program (past or future), the relationship of the piece to works currently in the collection, the relevance of the piece within the local community, and the importance of building into the collection a selection of the best Texas artists. In 2006 the budget for acquisitions came to $15,000 providing the money needed to purchase several figurative works (a running thread throughout the collection) including: three photographs by Susan Opton, a lithograph by Robert Longo, and a portfolio of five lithographs by David McGee. While funds generated in 2005 were dedicated to purchasing works by local artists featured in the triennial exhibit “New Art in Austin”.
While the museum focuses on offering ongoing stimulation and access to an array of Modern and Contemporary artists through its temporary exhibition program, selections from the permanent collection are regularly featured every two to three years in thematic exhibits. Last May the museum engaged local collectors in the development of “Color/Pattern/Grid” an exhibit that contextualized local artists, such as Michael Ray Charles and Margo Sawyer, within in the framework of historic and international figures from Pablo Picasso to Chuck Close. The exhibit, featuring works from seventeen Austin collections and the museum's permanent collection, highlighted the wealth of quality art in Austin; and the vibrant art market. Education programs such as “Conversations on Collecting” furthered this aim providing a forum for dialogue and discussion among local artists, collectors and the general public.
In addition to providing education opportunities directly related to the exhibition schedule, the museum supports local art enthusiasts and collectors through a variety of programs (starting at the $150 dollar membership level) including: Gallery Crawls, reciprocal membership at museums across the country, seminars on collecting, Art Treks to other cities, and tours of local collectors' homes.
The Blanton's Rebirth
Over the past few years efforts at the Blanton Museum focused largely on the capital campaign for its new state of the art exhibition facility and expanded public programs that came as a direct result of its efforts "to offer extraordinary experiences connecting art and ideas to the intellectually and artistically curious." With a vast permanent collection of over 17,000 works, largely in storage, the museum outgrew its modest space within the university's Art building and developed a plan to showcase a broader sampling of its holdings in a new 124,000-square-foot space centrally located just north of the state capital. The upstairs gallery features selections from the museums permanent collection with an emphasis on four areas of “depth and strength” including: European paintings, Modern and contemporary American art, Modern and contemporary Latin American art, and prints and drawings. While the first floor gallery offers a range of temporary exhibits (9-13 per year) that complement its collection by expanding the context of the work and providing access to other areas such as Asian art and alternative media.
In spite of the museum's fiscal emphasis on the new site and outreach programs there have been some major acquisitions in recent years including the Suida-Manning collection which was a gift/purchase made with funds allocated by the university (University of Texas at Austin) regents. While there are very limited acquisitions funds at the present time works come to the museum in a variety of ways including: purchases made with intermittent university support, ongoing support from donors who have commitments to the museum, and occasional grants from foundations and gifts made in consultation with a growing community of art collectors.
With a swell of community support following the opening of the new building (membership has grown from under 1,200 to 9,000 in six months) the planning process is currently underway to establish several new collection affiliate groups, with dues-paying memberships that will support the ongoing growth of the permanent collection. These programs will provide members at this level the opportunity to directly interact with curators and museum staff through special events and travel opportunities. Ms. Carlozzi is enthusiastic about the role this group will play "because it enhances this whole educational effort we are all (community arts organizations) involved in."
While the museum continues to support the needs and interests of scholars and collectors through lectures, symposiums, artist talks and meetings with curators and collectors they have also engaged the general public in a broad range of interactive programs including: the B scene (a monthly art party), Art Fix (programs on art making, music, and lifestyle), Artistic License (Discussions with featured artists), Hot Art, Hip Kids (hands-on activities for children ages 6-12) and the Bach Cantata Project (a joint venture with the UT choral program) that provide exciting opportunities to engage the museums extensive permanent collection and temporary exhibits.
The effort of both museums to build relationships with local collectors and the community at large has been a catalyst for exponential growth. The synergy of these two major institutions and grassroots initiatives by local artists and galleries has dramatically transformed the city over the past five years bringing with it unprecedented support and vitality for the visual arts in Austin. With these key elements in place, and the city's office of Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services in the midst of developing a long term plan to support continued growth through cultural arts programs, the outlook for Austin's visual arts market is optimistic.