Ethics and Exhibitions of Collectors as Potential Donors

Having read the Philip Kennicott article criticizing the exhibition of works from the collection of Bill and Camille Cosby (on view at the National Museum of African Art until January 2016), describe in your own words your position on museums exhibiting works from collections where the collector has been accused of sexual assault or other crimes. Should museums show works from collectors of questionable ethics, even if the works are of high quality and might not otherwise be seen in a public setting? Do you agree with the museum's statement that the show is "fundamentally about the artworks and the artists who created them, not the owners of the collections?" 

There is also in this case the fact that the couple donated $700,000 in support of the show, essentially paying to enhance the value of the collection, which itself has not been promised to the museum. How do these facts shade your position on the museum's decision to exhibit works from the collection? Respond thoughtfully in at least 4 sentences by 5:00 pm, Monday, November 16, and thanks.

Current Topics in Museum Work: Free Admission and Board Fundraising

Two issues that are current topics of discussion when it comes to museums and their survival are admission fees and board fundraising. How can a museum shift from paid admission (and that income) to offering access for free? And on a bigger topic: what if a museum gets into such financial trouble that the board of directors decides to close the institution?

For this week's blog entry assignment, students can chose either to respond to the Wampler lecture by Save the Corcoran's Jayme McLellan (JMU, November 3, 2015) "How to Make a Museum Disappear in 150 years or Fewer" on the demise of the Corcoran Gallery of Art OR to the online lecture by Maxwell Anderson, Director of the Dallas Art Museum: "Changing the Currency of Museum Membership: Participation v. Cash," part of Rewarding Museum Participation and Learning: New Approaches, Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum, April 23, 2013 (he appears after 2 minutes) https://badgeos.org/rewarding-museum-participation/

Please respond thoughtfully to the ideas and situations presented [particularly considering if you agree or not (Anderson) or what solutions you might have to art museums in situations similar to the Corcoran's], in at least 4 sentences, and post your comments no later than 5 pm, Monday, November 9. Thanks!