{"id":858,"date":"2009-07-28T19:10:07","date_gmt":"2009-07-29T02:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp\/2009\/07\/henry_gallery_director_sylvia\/"},"modified":"2009-07-28T19:10:07","modified_gmt":"2009-07-29T02:10:07","slug":"henry_gallery_director_sylvia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/2009\/07\/henry_gallery_director_sylvia.html","title":{"rendered":"Henry Gallery director Sylvia Wolf responds"},"content":{"rendered":"

In response to this post<\/a>, Henry Art Gallery<\/a> director Sylvia Wolf writes:<\/p>\n

As a response to the concern voiced above, I am pleased to report that the Henry Art Gallery is strong. Managing and thriving in this economic recession calls for bold steps from Henry leadership. <\/p>\n

As Washington State’s oldest art museum (founded in 1927), the Henry has been through tough times before. What has sustained the organization through past highs and lows is the pioneering spirit that has made the Henry a cultural leader and model of innovation in the Pacific Northwest. Those distinguishing characteristics have never been stronger.<\/p>\n

Like all arts organizations, our revenues have dropped significantly, endowment earnings are down, and state cuts have significantly reduced our funding. To that end, between January and May, we developed a long-range plan for operating under significantly different economic conditions. Measures taken included a reduction in force and in gallery hours. In addition, effective June 1, all Henry staff work hours and pay were reduced by 20%. All of us at the Henry–staff and Board alike–have worked hard in the past six months to determine how best to serve the community during a period of diminishing resources. <\/p>\n

Although the fiscal crisis greatly challenged us and called for sacrifices, we made our changes and ended the fiscal year, June 31, 2009, with a balanced budget. For the year ahead, we have a vigorous plan for providing access to art and artists at this time when the need for inspiration from the arts is more acute than ever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

In an effort to provide greater access to the Henry’s rich collection
\nof over 22,000 objects, the Henry will establish a schedule of hours,
\nstarting in the fall, when visitors, student groups, and scholars can
\nmake appointments to view original works of art first-hand in the
\nHenry’s Reed Collection Study Center. We have extended evening access
\nand dedicated a weekday to scheduled tours and educational activities.
\nIn an exciting new initiative, the Henry is developing a “Creative
\nCommons;” a place for students and general visitors to further their
\nengagement with collections and exhibitions through both group- and
\nself-directed activities and technological resources.<\/p>\n

In the fall, the Henry will dedicate its south galleries to
\n“Vortexhibition Polyphonica,” a yearlong series of installations from
\nthe permanent collection that will showcase recent acquisitions and
\nunknown marvels from the Henry’s collections of photography, new media,
\ntextiles, costumes, ceramics, and Pacific Northwest art. And in 2010,
\nthe Henry will feature the first survey of international artist, Kiki
\nSmith’s photographic works. We will also open a solo show of work by
\nIsabelle Pauwels, the first winner of The Brink, a new biennial award
\ngranted to an early-career artist working in Washington, Oregon, or
\nBritish Columbia. The award was initiated by Seattle collectors and
\nHenry benefactors John and Shari Behnke.<\/p>\n

In short, our commitment to innovation has never been stronger. While
\nthe challenges ahead are significant, the Henry Board and staff are
\nbuoyed by a sense of purpose. In the weeks and months ahead, I invite
\nyou to visit us often and join us in celebrating creativity, the value
\nof ideas, and the restorative, life-sustaining power of the arts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to this post, Henry Art Gallery director Sylvia Wolf writes: As a response to the concern voiced above, I am pleased to report that the Henry Art Gallery is strong. Managing and thriving in this economic recession calls for bold steps from Henry leadership. As Washington State’s oldest art museum (founded in 1927), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}