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  • 1.  Board involved Exhibitions Committee

    Posted 11-11-2021 12:42 PM

    Dear Colleagues, 

     

    The Harwood Museum of Art disposed of an Exhibitions Committee over a decade ago.  We now have a very persuasive Board member who is demanding the re-establishment of an Exhibitions Committee.

     

    Can anyone point me to a best practices model that makes a clear argument pro or con a Boards Exhibitions Committee. 

     

    Any feedback or resources are appreciated. 

     

    Juniper Leherissey, Executive Director

    Harwood Museum of Art

    junipermanley@unm.edu

    575-758-9826 ext. 106

    575-770-2959 cell

    Harwood logoCMYKred300dpi

    Harwood Museum of Art

    University of New Mexico

    238 Ledoux St

    Taos, NM 87571

     



  • 2.  RE: Board involved Exhibitions Committee

    Posted 11-11-2021 03:27 PM
    In my experience I have found museum trustees largely unqualified to  make exhibition decisions.  Fortunately I have never had a board member express interest in the idea.  (Whew!) And, i have always been able to set and implement whatever exhibits staff thought appropriate and feasible.  But, I have heard of circumstances where one or two obstreperous personages insisted on being involved when it came to collection and programming implementation. 

    It will be interesting to hear of museums that have board committees charged with exhibition oversight in some capacity.  With luck the Harwood may continue to govern without such trustee involvement (I really wanted to write meddling).  The best argument I can offer is that while the board has every right to express its opinion about exhibits, collections, staffing, budget(s), etc. it is rare for a museum to have trustees with real, actual and helpful experience in the exhibit arena in particular. 

    It would be interesting to know the reasons for the person's pressure to recreate the exhibition committee. All too often these folks have no idea, or refuse to accept the fact, that there is such as thing as the museum profession, in all its permutations.  We certainly see this hobby mentality play out in the media which is awash with uninformed opinions based on no internal lengthy museum experience.  I just finished reading Arnold Lehman's superb book Sensation which is about the exhibition presented at the Brooklyn Museum when he was director.  It contained some art, and one piece in particular, that offended the then mayor of NYC, Rudolph Giuliani. Rudy caused a huge controversy.  Fortunately the museum's board, and its chair in particular, stood by the director.  One can only imagine  what would have happened if a trustee took offence when the exhibit was being submitted for board information, or, after the mayor started yowling.  The exhibit planning was, of course, done according to the museum's governance practices.  The fact that the exhibit might prove controversial was not hidden from the board. 

    I do not know the Harwood's exhibition planning procedures but presumably an exhibition plan is submitted in advance as each year's annual budget is approved by the board.  This can be used as an argument against having an exhibition committee.  Again, as I noted, it will be interesting to hear opinions (pro or con) about the idea.     

    Thank you,

    Steve

    ------------------------------
    Steven Miller
    Doylestown, PA

    Executive Director Retired
    Boscobel Restoration, Inc.
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Board involved Exhibitions Committee

    Posted 11-12-2021 08:34 AM
    As a rule, boards should focus on policy and staff on implementation.  There can be a role for board members in setting exhibition policies and long term goals for an organization.  Many museums do not have an exhibition policy. A good project for board members to be engaged without micromanagement.


    Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS



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  • 4.  RE: Board involved Exhibitions Committee

    Posted 11-13-2021 12:09 PM

    Thank you for the input and comments.  I am well aware of the line of oversight vs management.  

     

    Does anyone have examples of Exhibition Policy then that Board was involved with without it needing and Exhibitions Committee. 

     

    We set the exhibition goals in the Strategic Planning process with the Board and staff is using those guidelines, but obviously there is a need for more involvement or more information to alleviate the sense of need to be involved in determining the specific exhibitions and artists the museum exhibits.  I like to keep that decision with the Curator with feedback from Fundraising, Marketing/Outreach, Programs and of course the Director. 

     

    Juniper Leherissey, Executive Director

    Harwood Museum of Art

    junipermanley@unm.edu

    575-758-9826 ext. 106

    575-770-2959 cell

    Harwood logoCMYKred300dpi

    Harwood Museum of Art

    University of New Mexico

    238 Ledoux St

    Taos, NM 87571

     




    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Board involved Exhibitions Committee

    Posted 11-12-2021 08:51 AM
    If I had a Board fully unqualified to make exhibition decisions, I would seek out new trustees who had the skill sets needed. Exhibitions are part of the very core of museum work; boards should be involved. In the meantime, giving boards data about how proposed exhibitions further the mission and bring financial support would be a good starting point to give an inexperienced group of trustees the tools they needed. I also believe that, while trustees may not have museum experience, they do (hopefully) have both a passion for the institution they serve and an understanding of the audience that is either typical or desired. Adding multiple extra viewpoints and perspectives to an exhibition conversation should be helpful. 

    Perhaps the exhibition committee doesn't just include trustees but community members, experts, and other diverse and experienced professionals.


    Hillary Olson
    (she/her/hers)
    President and CEO
    Rochester Museum & Science Center
    p 585.697.1975   m 631.678.6478   
    e holson@rmsc.org
    w rmsc.org   





    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Board involved Exhibitions Committee

    Posted 11-12-2021 02:10 PM
    We formed a Museum Committee back in 2009 which mostly focuses on collections but also reports on exhibits. It is comprised of senior staff and a handful of Board members. This is where we vote on all new acquisitions but also where we report on upcoming exhibits and/or exhibit status. Committee members do not get to vote on changing exhibits; it is written in our bylaws that our Association President has the final say and, of course, he takes staff (and Board) input into account when making decisions. Bringing exhibits before the committee can serve as a useful tool in a few ways:
    1. If a community member is proposing a temporary exhibit that staff may not want to do or are not sure about, the committee can weigh in and the decision isn't being made in a vacuum (much like when we turn down potential acquisitions)
    2. If an exhibit might have political ramifications, the committee can weigh in on that. Once we did an exhibit about a local tunnel that was built with much grassroots activism and some of our developer donors that had been in opposition to the project were a bit offended by it. Had we discussed it with the Museum Committee in advance, this red flag might have come up and we could possibly have done a better job of showing both perspectives.
    3. Finally, Board members who serve on this committee feel more involved because they are getting the "inside scoop." They know what is coming down the pipeline in advance and can share that information with other Board members through casual conversations without waiting for official reports during Board meetings. Our Museum Committee meetings are fairly informal where discussion flows freely and Board members are allowed to ask as many questions as they like.
    Our permanent exhibits require capital funding and, therefore, the Association President must get Board approval for any new permanent exhibits or major renovations of existing permanent exhibits. However, staff determines the content.

    I believe it is important that the Board know that their role is to trust and support their staff to do their jobs, including creating the exhibits. That being said, that trust and support comes easier if the Board can actually see the work we are doing. Reporting on exhibit projects during our Museum Committee meetings helps lend that level of transparency that helps our Board members to feel more involved and increases that level of trust without relinquishing the power of the staff to do their jobs.

    Dana Neitzel, Curator
    San Mateo County Historical Association
    2200 Broadway
    Redwood City, CA 94063
    650-299-0104



    Original Message


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