Everson Museum of Art hires new executive director from contemporary arts center in Houston

Elizabeth Dunbar has been hired as the new executive director of the Everson Museum of Art. She becomes the art institution's 10th director in its 117-year history. She is expected to assume her duties by January 2015. (Photo courtesy of Frank Sherwood White)

By Melinda Johnson | mjohnson@syracuse.com 
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on October 23, 2014 at 10:26 AM, updated October 23, 2014 at 11:19 AM

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Everson Museum of Art board of trustees has hired Elizabeth Dunbar, executive director of DiverseWorks in Houston, as its new executive director. She is expected to assume her new post by January. Dunbar becomes the 10th director of the museum, succeeding Steven Kern, who resigned in January to become the chief executive officer and director of Newark Museum in New Jersey.

Dunbar was one of two finalists among 75 job applicants in the museum's nationwide search. She visited Syracuse for several days last month.

Dunbar's appointment is the beginning of the "rebirth of the museum," said Gary Grossman, president of the Everson's board of trustees. "She is a stunningly perfect candidate," he said Thursday morning. "She has a strong desire to promote an artistic vision." Grossman described Dunbar as bright, poised experienced and grounded.

He said among Dunbar's priorities will be to understand Everson's collection. "She needs to create a strong fiscal foundation and she needs to build an artistic program of excellence and national reputation."

Dunbar said Thursday morning by phone she was impressed on several fronts with the Everson making it an honor to accept the job leading the art museum. She said she has signed a three-year contract.

"The museum has a national reputation," she said. "It's got a very strong collection especially in the pioneering video art as well as the ceramics collection. The building itself is amazing. But, beyond that, I was so impressed with the board of trustees of the Everson in support of the organization especially over the last year, being without a director for as long as it's been. I could just feel in the community how much this is museum is loved and cherished."

Dunbar has served as executive director of DiverseWorks since 2012. On the DiverseWorks website, it is described as an "alternative art space" for contemporary art that includes visual and performing arts, new media and literary art. Dunbar oversees a staff of four at DiverseWorks that is a non-collecting institution. It commissions artists to create new projects. The arts organization's budget ranges from $750,000 to $900,000.

Dunbar's appointment comes during a rocky period in the 117-year-old museum's history. In mid-April the board passed a balanced budget of $1.7 million after the museum started the year with a projected $700,000 deficit. The board took decisive steps in the face of the museum's financial crises in January. Its immediate action was to cut expenses beginning with the cancellation of two traveling exhibitions, "Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting From Glasgow Museums," scheduled for April 19 to July 13, and "African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond," slated for Oct. 18 to Jan. 4, 2015.

In the weeks that followed, the board began a nationwide search for a new museum director, cut back museum hours by closing its galleries a second day. The museum is now open Wednesday through Sunday. Designed by world-renowned architect I.M. Pei, the museum opened in October 1968 at 401 Harrison St. in downtown Syracuse.

Dunbar will oversee as a staff of 16 full-time employees at the museum. The organization has been searching for a director of development after Samara Hannah resigned last month to become managing director at Red House Arts Center. Everson also will fill the curator position.

She needs to create a strong fiscal foundation and she needs to build an artistic program of excellence and national reputation.

The new executive director said the museum's current challenges didn't dissuade her from accepting the leadership position. "Certainly, I have worked in other organizations, DiverseWorks being one of them, where I came in and I knew there were financial challenges to start with."

She believes the outlook for the Everson is "promising."

"Certainly, I have the history of working in organizations involved in balancing budgets and raising money. I think, certainly, that's one of the skills they were looking for in the next executive director. And I intend to put those skills and that experience to work."

Grossman did not disclose details on Dunbar's contract or compensation. But the museum's tax returns for 2012 show Kern's base salary was $155,866. He received an additional $13,415 that included $7,091 for retirement and other deferred compensation; $9,035 payment to assist Kern until his Connecticut home sold and $2,123 membership dues to the Century Club.

Before her leadership position at DiverseWorks, Dunbar was curator and associate director at Arthouse, a contemporary arts center in Austin for four years. Her programming was characterized as "edgy" by Glasstire, an online art website in Texas. Her position was eliminated and budget cutbacks were cited as the reason in news story in the Austin American-Statesmen in April 2011.

Dunbar said she could not comment about her departure from Arthouse because of a confidentiality agreement.

She has held curatorial positions at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Mo., Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

She described as one of her strengths her vast experience at arts organizations, large and small. "I have very strong background in more historic work, but I can also bring to the table a lot of experience working with more experimental contemporary work. I think being able to balance the two things putting the contemporary within in the context of the historic that gives me a certain perspective on a more comprehensive collection."

Dunbar grew up in California's Bay Area and in Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree in art history and French from Texas Tech University and master's degrees in museum studies and art history from City University of New York, City College, where she focused on 19th and 20th century American and European art. Dunbar is married and has a 5-year old son and a chocolate Labrador retriever puppy.

Everson has 1,536 members and an endowment of $4.6 million. The museum will receive county government support in 2015 for $115,449 in funds from the hotel room occupancy tax and $31,500 this year from the New York State Council on the Arts. A $300,000 fundraising campaign, "Your Museum, Your Everson," was launched in September. An anonymous individual donated $100,000, with a request the museum raise $200,000 more for a total of $300,000. It already has raised $175,000 in donations and pledges. The deadline for the matching challenge grant is Dec. 31. If Everson should fail to meet its target goal, it will still receive the anonymous donation of $100,000.

REDC to Host Regional Workshops on Application & Funding Opportunities

New York State Council on the Arts 300 Park Avenue South, 10th Floor New York, NY 10010 www.arts.ny.gov  The Regional Economic Development Council is hosting a series of regional workshops statewide to provide an overview of the $750 million available in economic development funding and the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process. Additionally, there will be informational breakout sessions on specific areas of funding available. NYSCA’s grant opportunities will be highlighted at each workshop. The training workshops are open to local economic development officials, municipalities, non-profits, businesses and members of the public. We invite you to attend a workshop in your area to learn more about the REDC, NYSCA’s grant opportunities and the application process. Click here for the workshop schedule. Please click the links below for further information REDC Website | CFA Resource Guide | Consolidated Funding Application| FAQ

This e-mail was sent from an unmonitored mailbox. Please do not reply to this e-mail. Submit all questions through the NYSCA Helpdesk. Copyright © 2014 New York State Council on the Arts, All rights reserved.

Everson Museum launches campaign to raise money via phone texts

By Melinda Johnson

Everson Museum of Art is tapping into the potential of technology to help raise money and to send news on its programs and events — all through mobile phone text messages. 
It is the first arts organization in Syracuse to begin a text campaign, said Sarah Massett the museum’s assistant director. 
At least two Central New York nonprofits, Say Yes to Education and the United Way, have used text messages to raise funds in the last year. This strategy has been used nationally by the Red Cross and other nonprofits for major disasters, such as the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti and Hurricane Sandy. 
Everson launches its campaign today and invites supporters to make donations using their cell phones to text the word “Art” to 277-22. Each text will make a $10 donation to the museum for general operation and special exhibitions, Massett said. 
A text with the word “Everson” sent to 277-22 will sign up a user to receive museum text messages via mobile phone about its activities and reminders about class registrations and events. 
Massett said the museum hopes to extend its reach to a broad spectrum of followers as well as a specific group. 
“We are particularly looking to reach our tech-savvy audience and better connect with our under 40 crowd,” she said. “We know that mobile is one of the fastest growing technologies and that most people have their cell phones within arm’s reach 90 percent of the time. So we know this is a good way to connect with people.” 
Everson’s idea originated with Samara Hannah, director of development. Massett said she researched the text-to-donate strategy, looked at the successes of other organizations and developed the local campaign. 
The museum has an “aggressive financial goal,” said Massett who did not want to be more specific with a dollar amount. 
With each $10 donation, the cell provider takes 70 cents as a processing charge, she said. Everson receives $9.30 from the text donation. 
Text-fundraising campaigns are in their infancy, said Kelly Gaggin, director of marketing and communications at United Way of Central New York. “It’s buzzy” right now, she said of its new popularity. 
The local United Way initiated a text-fundraising campaign during the Syracuse University and University of Connecticut football game at the Carrier Dome in October. Gaggin didn’t want to reveal the tally for donations received. 
She said reaching supporters and donors through text messages follow the path of email campaigns, which took some time to catch on. It still comes down to cultivating relationships with donors, she said. 
Gaggin believes text donations are most successful on a national level when it’s a disaster — such as the Haiti earthquake in 2010 or Hurricane Sandy last year— and people are suffering and a celebrity is making a plea for donations. 
“It’s about that immediate ... that sense of urgency,” she said. 
The Red Cross raised nearly $33 million in text donations for the Haiti earthquake. The relief agency said it set the record for the largest amount ever raised in a text donation program. In 2008, the Red Cross used this strategy after hurricane disasters in the United States. 
Say Yes to Education Syracuse also used texting for donations during a basketball game in the Dome in 2011 and raised $5,000. 
Besides the debut of its texting campaign, Everson also connects with supporters through its website, everson.org, Facebook, facebook.com/EversonMuseumOfArt and Twitter, twitter.com/EversonMuseum.

For the full online article click here

Grants for Museum Advancement

Grants for Museum Advancement
Sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts,
administered by Museumwise: The Museum Association of New York 

The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) has provided $78,605 for the FY 2013 Grants for Museum Advancement program. These funds will be portioned between January and June and July and December in accordance with previous year's application percentages. We anticipate awarding approximately 8 Get Ready; 14 Get Set; and 40 Go! grants in 2013. 

For more Info. Click Here

Geneva Historical Society Executive Director

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Geneva Historical Society is seeking an Executive Director. This community-based institution operates a local history museum, an extensive archive, and three historic house museums, including Rose Hill Mansion, a National Historical Landmark. The operating budget is approximately $360,000. The Society is located in Geneva, New York, on Seneca Lake in the heart of the Finger Lakes region.

Working with a hands-on board of trustees, the Executive Director will provide leadership in achieving the mission of the Society. He/She will be responsible for organizational development, strategic planning, fiscal management, membership and resource development, office administration, and the supervision of an experienced museum staff, which include an educator, a curator, an archivist, and a site manager for Rose Hill.

Desired qualifications include commitment to community engagement and museum best practices, aptitude for financial management, and an eagerness to explore creative public and educational programming. Familiarity with grant writing, fund raising and membership recruitment is a plus. A degree in history, public history, museum studies or historic preservation is preferred, as well as professional experience in a museum, local history, or preservation organization. Residency in the Geneva area is preferred.

For additional information and detailed job description, email: search@genevahistoricalsociety.com. Send letter of interest, résumé, three references and salary requirements by June 30, 2012 to: search@genevahistoricalsociety.com. An Equal Opportunity Employer www.genevahistoricalsociety.com

Erin Davies said she hopes someday to meet the person who scrawled “fag” on her car three years ago, permanently altering the course of her life.

The Post-Standard reported on Erin Davies (left) and Sonya Parrish stand outside the building at 412 Oswego St., Syracuse, that they are planning to turn into a museum for the Fagbug, a Volkswagen Beetle that Davies drove across the country.

As the article relates:
Erin Davies said she hopes someday to meet the person who scrawled “fag” on her car three years ago, permanently altering the course of her life.

“At the core, I’m hoping that will happen,” said Davies, 32, of Syracuse. “I’m not expecting it. But by keeping at this, by continuing to do what I’m doing — you know what? Anything is a possibility.”

If such optimism sounds like something from a movie, perhaps Davies can be forgiven. She went and made one.

Davies’ 2009 documentary, “Fagbug,” chronicles her reaction to the vandalism, which took place in Albany, where she was studying art. Somebody spray-painted “fag” and “u r gay” on her Volkswagen Beetle, an act that Davies — who is gay — viewed as an attempt to taunt and intimidate.

Instead of scrubbing it clean, she let the paint dry and drove the country for 58 days, talking to people and filming their reactions to the car and its message. The resulting 83-minute movie has aired at 35 film festivals and appeared on about 70 college campuses and forums. It won sponsorships from Volkswagen Group of America and the Sundance Film Festival, and was dubbed “best gay car movie of the year” by Vanity Fair magazine. Its DVD release, scheduled for July 13, will be commemorated in a Syracuse public showing a few nights later.

“Once the whole idea started taking off — well, ever since, it’s been unique,” said Davies, a 1996 Westhill graduate, whose odyssey has led to a two-story, brick husk on Syracuse’s Near West Side. There, the sequel is planned.

Building a museum and brewery
Davies and her partner, Sonya Parrish, are buying a vacant, 1900s-era fortress at 412 Oswego St., which they foresee as the future Fagbug home and museum. Read more here.

NY to close parks due to budget gap

The Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) today put forward a recommended list of closures and service reductions in order to achieve its 2010-11 agency savings target and help address the State's historic fiscal difficulties.

Governor David A. Paterson issued the following statement:

"New York faces an historic fiscal crisis of unprecedented magnitude. It has demanded many difficult but necessary decisions to help ensure the fiscal integrity of our State. The unfortunate reality of closing an $8.2 billion deficit is that there is less money available for many worthy services and programs. In an environment when we have to cut funding to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and social services, no area of State spending, including parks and historic sites, could be exempt from reductions. We cannot mortgage our State's financial future through further gimmicks or avoidance behavior. Spending cuts, however difficult, are needed in order to put New York on the road to fiscal recovery. Going forward through the budget process, I look forward to a productive dialogue with the Legislature on parks and historic sites, as well as other issues."

OPRHP Commissioner Carol Ash issued the following statement:

"The 2010-11 Executive Budget included reductions to every area of State spending. As such, the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation has today put forward proposed closures and service reductions to meet its agency savings target. These actions were not recommended lightly, but they are necessary to address our State's extraordinary fiscal difficulties."

###

A fact sheet on the proposed closures and service reductions is included below:

The Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) today put forward a list of closures and service reductions in order to achieve its proposed 2010-11 agency savings target and help address the State's historic fiscal difficulties. As part of a comprehensive plan to close an $8.2 billion deficit, the 2010-11 Executive Budget included necessary cost reductions to each executive State agency, as well as cuts to education, health care, social services, and every other area of State spending.

OPRHP's plan includes the closure of 41 parks and 14 historic sites, and service reductions at 23 parks and 1 historic site.

The plan also assumes $4 million in park and historic site fee increases that will be identified at a later date, and the use of $5 million in funds from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) to finance OPRHP operations. These two actions were part of the 21-day amendments to the Executive Budget and are intended to reduce the number of parks and historic sites subject to closures and service reductions.

Specific recommended closures and service reductions are detailed here.

Former gym building is a sinking boat for Erie Canal Museum

Syracuse.com reported about the Erie Canal Museum's challenges with a $499,000 building they purchased previously for an expansion, now cancelled. Now the building is for sale and the museum owes Onondaga County more than half a million dollars related to the aborted project.

The museum put the building — the old Water Street Gym — on the market six months ago and plans to pay back the county with money from the sale, museum Executive Director Diana Goodsight said.

Once the building is sold, the county will set up a plan for the museum to pay back whatever remains of its $552,105 debt to the county, said Ben Dublin, county director of intergovernmental relations.

“We need to recoup that taxpayer money,” he said.

Dublin was quick to point out that the situation dates back to 2006, before County Executive Joanie Mahoney took office.

It began with a $1.2 million federal grant and the museum’s plan to expand into the building a few doors down in the 300 block of East Water Street.

The county applied for and in 2006 won the federal grant, which came through the state Department of Transportation. The money was to be used by the museum for the expansion.

When the museum killed the expansion — after it bought the building — the grant reverted to the state, but the county was on the hook to pay back the state for the grant money already spent, a total of $431,000, Dublin said.

After the county won the grant, but before the money came in, the county advanced the museum $552,105 for the project, he said. Then County Executive Nick Pirro and the county Legislature agreed in 2006 to advance the museum up to $1.7 million for the project, according to Dublin. The projected cost of the expansion was $1.7 million.

The $1.2 million grant was supposed to buy the building, replace its 1950s facade and ready the interior for use as exhibition galleries, classrooms and hands-on learning space. The museum was responsible for coming up with the other $500,000, Goodsight said.

To actually install the exhibits and finish the project would have cost at least $800,000 on top of the $1.7 million, Goodsight said.

When the economy soured, and given other projects the museum was conducting, its board decided to cancel the expansion to avoid a possible “financial mess,” she said. Read more here.

Seward House Museum ED Search

Good afternoon,
I am contacting you in my role as a trustee of Seward House Museum located in Auburn. Seward House has just begun a search for a new Executive Director to replace Peter Wisbey, who will be stepping down at the end of the yearafter serving nine years in the position. Below is a link to the job description and application instructions. I would ask that you pass along this link to anyone you believe may have an interest in the position. Thank you for your assistance.
Dan Fessenden
www.sewardhouse.org/executivedirector

2009 GAGE RAILWAY EXCURSION

Saturday, Aug. 22
A Train Ride Into the Past

Historical Enactors in 19th-Century Dress
Program at Women's Rights National Historical Park
Shops & Restaurants in Seneca Falls
Scavenger Hunt with Prizes

Schedule
11 am: Train leaves Finger Lakes Railway Depot in Camillus, N.Y. Depot at corner of Hinsdale Ave. and Milton Ave., inside Home Depot / Staples complex. Parking at east end of complex in front of Staples and adjacent buildings. Click here for more directions. Onboard presentations by enactors. Boxed lunch (order in advance).1 pm: Arrive in Seneca Falls. Depot is short walk from museums, shops, restaurants.
2-3 pm: Program in theater at Historical Park's main museum-short film on Matilda Joslyn Gage; display and discussion of 19th-century women's undergarments (corsets, chemises); Q & A with historical characters, incl. Sarah Loguen (daughter of Jermain Loguen of the Jerry Rescue), Elizabeth Smith Miller (active in dress reform); an anti-suffrage leader, Mrs. Justus Wells (a typical 19th-century woman), & Mrs. Gage.
6 pm: Arrive back in Camillus.
Reservations

Go to www.fingerlakesscenicrailway.com to order tickets and boxed lunches. Or call Finger Lakes Railway at (315) 209-1029 / (315) 374-1570. Walk-ups OK as long as tickets available. $25/adult, $23/seniors, $18/kids 3-14. Children 2 & under free if sit on lap. Add $10 per boxed lunch. Can bring own lunch.

Local Nonprofit Offers New Mission-Based Idea for Fundraising

The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation is offering a train ride from Camillus to Seneca Falls that features costumed historical characters (like Matilda Joslyn Gage and others), and an opportunity to visit area women's history museums.

This event is a great example of an activity that is mission-based and also geared towards raising money. During these challenging times, nonprofits have to focus their efforts, especially when fundraising.

Event Details:
When: Sat., Aug. 22
Where: Leaves from Camillus, N.Y. To Seneca Falls and back.
Description: Ride the rails to Seneca Falls with 19th-century women's rights activist Matilda Joslyn Gage and other costumed historical characters. Onboard program. Train leaves Finger Lakes Scenic Railway depot in Camillus 11 a.m. Arrives in Seneca Falls 1 p.m. During 3-hr layover, passengers can visit one of the women's history museums or go to shops and restaurants. Train arrives back in Camillus 6 p.m. Passengers can order boxed lunches to eat onboard or bring their own. Lunches must be ordered when making reservations.
For reservations: Finger Lakes Scenic Railway will begin taking reservations soon at www.fingerlakesscenicrailway.com or (315) 209-1029 / (315) 374-1570. Walk-ups OK as long as tickets remain available. Ticket prices (without lunch): $25/adult, $23/seniors & kids 3-14. Children 2 & under free as long as they sit on lap; must pay if they need seat. Add $10 for boxed lunch.