CultureInTrouble

Philadelphia Museum of Art Makes Staff Cuts

Filed under: Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is working to balance its budget in this economy. Philly.com finds that the museum is seeking to cut around $1.7 million from its operating budget for the fiscal year ending June 30. The cuts will take the form of staff and salary cutbacks, deferred exhibitions and, pending city approval, an increase in admission fees. The museum is trying to avoid a deficit in the next year which has been forecast to be as high as $5 million. The museum will eliminate 30 jobs which is about seven percent of the staff. Chairman H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest warns that if the value of the museum's endowment continues to fall more reductions may be required. Like other large museums the museum is dependent upon the interest and earnings generated by its endowment. The value of its endowment was at $346 million in July but by the end of December it had been reduced to $256 million. The museum also owes around $60 million in loans for expansion. The city of Philadelphia may be reducing its support of the museum as well, down from $3 million to around $2.4 million for fiscal 2010.

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New York City Ballet Cuts Back

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The New York City Ballet is another New York City cultural institution cutting back. According to the NY Times the ballet master in chief, Peter Martins, has let go 11 members of the corps. The ballet is facing the double hit of reduced ticket sales and a decrease in donations that has plagued museums, theater companies and others in the arts. The company is predicted a $5.5 million deficit this season on a budget of $62.3 million.

The ballet is also instituting salary reductions for senior staff, a hiring freeze and is pursuing cutbacks in other areas such as marketing and administration. The NY Times article quotes Kenneth Tabachnick, the general manager, who says that the company has "over the past several years, had an increasing level of deficit."

Like the Metropolitan Museum, the ballet has seen its endowment shrink, from $187 million to around $138 million. If the economy doesn't worsen or gets better then the layoffs and cost-measures will help pare down the deficit the company is facing. Should the economy get worse however, it is likely that more cuts might be necessary.

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Tags: ballet, culture in trouble, CultureInTrouble, new york city, NewYorkCity

The Metropolitan Museum Tightens Its Belt, Closes Shops

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City becomes the latest cultural organization to take a sharper look at its bottom line. Chairman James Houghton recently published a letter on the museum's website outlining the effect of the financial crisis on the museum. The letter states that the museums estimates that its current endowment is around $2.1 billion which is a decrease of 25 percent since June 30, 2008.

The museum is also reporting fewer visitors and fewer patrons at the Met's restaurant and gift shops. A predicted decline in New York City tourism along with fewer members and fewer donations is forcing the museum to take some immediate steps. Some infrastructure renewal programs have been tabled although others including the renovation of the American Wing and new galleries for the Departments of Islamic Art and The Costume Institute are continuing.

The museum had 23 satellite gift stores a year ago but already closed eight and will close another seven bringing the remaining total to eight stores. The museum will focus on its online shop and mail-order business. The Met has also imposed a hiring freeze and is making cuts in staff travel and entertainment and is looking to cut costs wherever possible.With a healthy endowment in its coffers, the Met isn't facing the type of immediate trouble that other smaller institutions are wrestling with but just about every cultural organization is experiencing some sort of adjustment.

[via NY Times]

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Nonprofit Theaters Making Cutbacks

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Charity

Opera isn't the only cultural institution that has hit difficult times. Bloomberg News reveals that nonprofit theaters are struggling as well. A new survey by the Theater Communications Group finds that out of 210 member theaters, a full 77 percent are taking another look at the expenses for the coming year and making cuts where they can, often by replacing big scale productions with more modest efforts. Many expect to hit cash flow problems this year as the economy leads to a decrease in ticket sales and a donations shortfall. Theater salaries which are already low are expected to dip even further. So far around 10 U.S. theater companies in the U.S. have either shut down or sent out a distress call. One of the largest was the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, which had its first show back in 1935 filed for bankruptcy protection on December 23.

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Las Vegas Art Museum Is Closing

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

It looks like art will be increasingly hard to find in Las Vegas. I wrote last April about the closing of the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum in the Venetian. Now the Las Vegas Sun reports that the Las Vegas Art Museum is closing its doors. The museum will close on February 28th. It will keep its name and remain an entity with the hope of opening up its doors again in better times. Like many other museums, the LVAM has been suffering from a lack of donations. The museum cut spending and jobs less than three months ago in an effort to keep the museum viable. The museum began 59 years ago as an art league and became a fine art museum in 1974. It specializes in contemporary art and is currently showing an exhibit featuring 20 emerging artists who live and work in Los Angeles, California.

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Stanford Group Investigation Bad News For Arts Groups

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity

After the Bernie Madoff scandal was exposed the fallout to nonprofits was tremendous. Now the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation of Stanford Financial Group may affect charities too. The Stanford Group has been a supporter of the arts and charities through sponsorships which it used to promote the brand. The Houston Chronicle reports that the Houston Arts Alliance had just finished reviewing applications for the second Stanford Financial Excellence in the Arts awards when it found out the award money was on hold. The company doled out $45,000 in similar grants to Dallas arts groups last year.

Chairman and Chief Executive R. Allen Stanford and his companies sponsored sports around the world, everything from charity golf tournaments in Memphis to cricket competitions in Antigua. Stanford and two fellow executives are believed to have fraudulently sold $8 billion in high-yield certificates of deposit and promised big returns for investors. Stanford, who is worth over $2 billion, grew up in Texas but adopted Antigua & Barbuda as his second country. Bloomberg reveals that he has six planes registered with the Federal Aviation Administration and Stanford Development Group owns a 7,000 square- foot, 14-room Mediterranean-style house in Houston, appraised at $2.5 million.

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Could The Stimulus Package Hurt Some Nonprofits?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity

Some unintended fallout from President Obama's economic stimulus package may be fewer donations to charities. Nonprofits have already been facing tough times in recent months, some because of their association with Bernie Madoff, some simply because of the economy. Those who are making less money are giving less money, a situation that could be exacerbated by the economic stimulus package which bars firms that accept federal bailout funds from paying their top earners exorbitant bonuses. The Wall Street Journal reports that Americans gave more than $300 billion to charity in 2007 and that much of that may have come from the big bosses on Wall Street. Some nonprofit leaders are worried that the financial restrictions imposed by the stimulus package could mean that executives will give less. Some of the richest executives also funnel money through private foundations. Even executives in companies that aren't accepting bailouts may feel less inclined to donate because of the fear that their own financial situation is far from secure. The trend isn't just affecting New York charities. In Detroit, museums, shelters and other nonprofits are struggling without the largess of the executives at some of the big auto firms. While the stimulus package will offer support for some nonprofits those who've been depending on the big salaries of others may be preparing for lean months ahead.

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