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Displaying items by tag: Takeover

One of the nation’s oldest museums, known for its daring contemporary art exhibitions next to the White House and for its financial troubles, is being taken over by two larger institutions and will soon close for renovations.

Under an agreement signed Thursday, the long-struggling Corcoran Gallery of Art and its College of Art and Design will merge with George Washington University and the federally funded National Gallery of Art.

The three sides agreed the Corcoran will close around Oct. 1 for an undetermined amount of time and undergo renovations. When it reopens, it will offer free admission like the National Gallery’s other buildings on the National Mall.

Published in News
Friday, 09 September 2011 03:40

Seaport Museum Takeover Planned

The Museum of the City of New York will take over the beleaguered Seaport Museum New York using a $2 million grant from the corporation in charge of developing Lower Manhattan, according to state, city and museum officials who made the deal public on Wednesday.

The takeover, which requires final approval from the City Museum board, will rescue the Seaport Museum from its financial problems and install new leaders for an institution that has been struggling. Over the past decade the Seaport Museum has been in arrears to the New York City Economic Development Corporation for rent and utilities.

“We assume full responsibility for its management and its budget,” said Susan Henshaw Jones, the City Museum’s director. “We have complementary missions and complementary collections.”

The Seaport Museum, at 12 Fulton Street and formerly named the South Street Seaport Museum because of the district where it stands, was founded in 1967 and explores the maritime history of New York through artifacts, historic ships and service boats. It has always been a modest operation, catering to tourists and nautical buffs.

The City Museum, on Fifth Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets, explores the city’s history through exhibitions and public programs. It is in a strong financial position for the takeover with a budget that has been in balance since 2003 and with a $90 million renovation that is about 70 percent complete.

Under the proposal the City Museum would operate the Seaport Museum’s signature fleet of 11 deteriorating vessels. In recent years the Seaport Museum had considered turning its ships over to other maritime centers to save money, but that plan never materialized.

“The early ideal of the Seaport Museum and the entire district, “ Ms. Jones said, “was to combine the ships and the buildings in a way that educated people about New York’s great seafaring past. We are committed to that combination.”

She added: “I think we can find our legs regarding the ships in fairly short order. It’s true we’ve never managed anything other than buildings, but we understand management.”

The $2 million that helped make the takeover deal possible was provided by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, part of $20 million in grants to 38 nonprofit community and cultural organizations.

The financial problems of the Seaport Museum were evident this year when 7 of its 21 trustees resigned from the board, and 32 employees, half its staff, were furloughed. Exhibitions were suspended, and the museum effectively eliminated its curatorial and development departments. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg became involved, meeting with the museum’s chairman, Frank J. Sciame.

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