Great questions. (Waves from just up the road from the O'Keeffe.) We are a low-traffic museum and historic site so not so much an active center for the community. However, we have a 50-person volunteer corps, almost all of whom are over 60 and the majority of whom are over 70. Beginning in late February we communicated our sanitation and restricted access policies to the volunteers along with official advice about infectious disease control. This was much appreciated.
As of yesterday we have closed to tours and events at least until April 30, but in our next communication with our volunteers we plan to offer to act as a clearinghouse for requests for assistance with grocery shopping and dropoff and medication delivery for those who are self-isolating. Staff are still on the clock (we have cash reserves for at least several months) and we will fill in with any such assistance if no volunteers are able to do so.
Our executive director is meeting this morning with several other directors of local museums and arts nonprofits to coordinate what we are all doing regarding closures, postponements, employee issues, communication, etc. I will text him this question for discussion!
Be well!
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Regina Scherffius
Program Manager
Couse-Sharp Historic Site
Taos NM
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-12-2020 10:42 AM
From: Katrina Stacy
Subject: How Is your Museum HELPING in time of Crisis?
Greetings All,
While I know we're all still trying to come to grips with our own concerns and facility maintenance issues surrounding various states of public health emergency/ states of emergency/ global pandemic/ supply shortages, I think there is a possibility for museums to come together as centers of community trust. Is there anything that your own cultural organizations are doing to help your local constituents right now? Has anyone been thinking about possible distance learning, acting as sites for food or supply distribution, a forum of (digital or online) discussion about fear and response, or anything else?
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Katrina Stacy
Curator of Education and Interpretation
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Santa Fe NM
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