Open Forum

Our museum has just begun a 2 year transformation project this past May that has our museum surrounded with construction on 3 sides of our building. While we are currently open to the public, all of our adjacent parking has been removed and we are relatively difficult to get to. Furthermore, next year we will close to the public fully while an expansion onto our building is built.
One of the many things we have been thinking about during this time is how our membership program will function – both during the year we are closed and after we reopen. Because the museum will be closed and inaccessible, we feel like our members are really missing out on one of the fundamental benefits that their membership provides. Therefore, we are considering some options on how to be flexible with our membership program during those two years. Ideas such as discounted membership, buy-one-year get-one-free (or discounted), additional off-property programming, and others have been thrown around. I am curious if anyone here did any such adjustments during your construction/expansion project? If you did, what was successful and what was not? How did you communicate these changes to your member base?
Because we are a University museum,these challenges come with their own unique concerns. If there are any university/college museums that have responses, I would greatly love to hear your input. 
Any tips, suggestions, ideas, or experiences are helpful to us now. Thank you so much!


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Lauren Hahn
Visitor Services and Membership Coordinator
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
Saint Louis MO
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I was part of a museum expansion project in Vero Beach, Florida. We were moved out of our building for one year. We did a range of off-site programming that was a sampling of what the museum did, and would provide on site. It is important to keep that program near to and accessible to members. We also tied our annual arts festival into the construction theme, and throughout the year, thanked members for support and promoted what was coming (expanded facilities with more programming for members). We did not offer discounts, we marketed continuing value in the memberships and treated members like donors.

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Grace Robinson
Executive Director
Gadsden Arts Center
Quincy FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-29-2017 04:42 PM
From: Lauren Hahn
Subject: Museum Expansion Membership Considerations

Our museum has just begun a 2 year transformation project this past May that has our museum surrounded with construction on 3 sides of our building. While we are currently open to the public, all of our adjacent parking has been removed and we are relatively difficult to get to. Furthermore, next year we will close to the public fully while an expansion onto our building is built.
One of the many things we have been thinking about during this time is how our membership program will function – both during the year we are closed and after we reopen. Because the museum will be closed and inaccessible, we feel like our members are really missing out on one of the fundamental benefits that their membership provides. Therefore, we are considering some options on how to be flexible with our membership program during those two years. Ideas such as discounted membership, buy-one-year get-one-free (or discounted), additional off-property programming, and others have been thrown around. I am curious if anyone here did any such adjustments during your construction/expansion project? If you did, what was successful and what was not? How did you communicate these changes to your member base?
Because we are a University museum,these challenges come with their own unique concerns. If there are any university/college museums that have responses, I would greatly love to hear your input. 
Any tips, suggestions, ideas, or experiences are helpful to us now. Thank you so much!


------------------------------
Lauren Hahn
Visitor Services and Membership Coordinator
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
Saint Louis MO
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