Please allow me to respectfully disagree with Ms. Cutler regarding the
history of issues in museum crisis management at The Barnes Foundation.
There has been a long history of misinformation about this organization and
the archives of the Philadelphia Inquirer will not allay this.

The Barnes Foundation was created by its founder, Albert C. Barnes, as an
educational institution.  The collections, including fine art, decorative
art, furniture and a living plant collection on a 12-acre arboretum, were all
created as teaching collections.  The intent was never to create a public
gallery or museum, though public visitation over the years has established
that identity for the organization.  The Foundation continues to offer
classes in the study of aesthetics, philosophy and appreciation of art and
the study of the traditions of art history, as well as a respected
horticulture program, which we believe might have been the first in the
region.

The issues you mention for which the Foundation is currently receiving so
much attention in the media, are at their root:
Issues of Access:  The township of Lower Merion controls, through zoning
board rulings, the number of visitors that may visit the Foundation, the days
of the week they may visit, and the type of transportation they must use.
The township requires advance reservations and Montgomery County Orphan's
Court controls the admission fee of $5.00.  The township has also attempted
to control the enrollment in classes, by setting limits on the numbers.
Neighbors really do stop tour busses driving on our street and harass school
teachers and students if they are not riding in the appropriate vehicle, one
that seats no more than 26 passengers.  The township police and administrator
really do show up at the front gate when neighbors call to complain that the
wrong vehicle is here.  And we really can be held in contempt of the township
zoning ruling if we allow visitors on the property if they arrived in the
wrong vehicle.
Inner city schools are effectively prohibited from visiting the Foundation
because neighbors are complaining about school busses. (Don't you think it is
strange that our next door neighbor is a private school that receives and
dispenses 60+ school busses, five days a week, using the same street access
our visitors must use?)  Inner city schools do not have discretionary funds
to pay for the "appropriate vehicle" to travel to the Barnes Foundation. This
is one of the many projects for which we are seeking financial support.
These issues are not quirky, self-imposed constraints.
The bigger issue here is that of restrictions a local government entity has
imposed on a non-profit institution effectively prohibiting its ability to
function.
I first visited the Barnes Foundation as a young art student in the 70's.
Cars parked on the street in front of the Foundation and visitors stood in
line to visit the gallery on Sunday afternoons.  Is it not strange that the
neighbors didn't complain until the Board of Trustees were all replaced
(according to the charter) with individuals who are all African American?
Issues of the rights of a non-profit organization:  The Superior Court of
Pennsylvania ruled in 1998 that The Foundation may hold fund-raising events
on the grounds of the organization, like every other non-profit organization
holds, in order to ensure its fiscal stability and longevity.
Issues of financial stability:  While I choose not  debate details of
financial issues in this forum, The Foundation is for the first time in its
history, seeking financial support from appropriate sources, as a non-profit
organization.  Following the death of Dr. and Mrs. Barnes no one paid
attention to the fact that the endowment would be depleted if it was
consistently spent and no measures were taken to replenish it.  These are the
efforts in which the Foundation is engaging, (successfully), that are
creating such a stir in the Philadelphia region.
Those supporting the move of the Foundation to the City of Philadelphia, are
not necessarily concerned about issues of access but are bowled over by the
dazzling collection of fine art housed here.  They are viewing the Foundation
as a "museum," ignoring the fact that it is a school and hoping to benefit
financially from moving the collection into the city.  This move,
incidentally, would eliminate the science/horticulture component of the
school and organization because the proposed site is not a historical
arboretum.
Issues of changing the charter of a non-profit organization:  A neighbor
argues that the charter of the Foundation has been changed by allowing
fund-raising events on the grounds.  This however, does not fundamentally
effect the mission of the organization.  To break up the fine art collection,
install it in a different manner, to separate it from the living plant
collection and to subrogate the educational role of the organization will
fundamentally change the mission of the organization.

The location of the Foundation was selected by Dr. and  Mrs. Barnes because
of their interest in the arboretum that dates to the late 19th century.  The
education programs here at the Barnes Foundation are models for learning that
our colleagues in education and in the museum field are revisiting by way of
Constructivism, experiential learning, inquiry-based learning and some are
even exploring John Dewey's writings.  (Dewey was the first director of
education and a guiding force behind Barnes and the creation of his school
here.)  Ironically, Barnes' interest was in providing access to education, in
the arts and science, to those who for reasons of race or economic status,
did not have those opportunities.  Restricting enrollment, visitation, mode
of transportation and the organization's ability to raise funds to remain
open, restricts access in multiple ways.

Crisis? Yes, every day staff faces issues that no other institution must
face, distracting valuable time and resources from our tasks as an
organization.  The story is not that the organization can't get along with
neighbors.  The story is, at its base, about access and survival.

Finally, archival research, is not best practiced through the archives of The
Philadelphia Inquirer.  The numerous biographies of Barnes and books on The
Foundation are not authorized and full of inaccuracies and misinformation.
The best place to begin research on The Foundation is in the 500,000 +
documents in the archives of The Barnes Foundation.  Unfortunately, they are
not all indexed and are not available for scholarly research, yet. (I can
hear many of you drooling at the thought.)  This is one of the many projects
for which we are seeking financial support.

Robin Muse McClea
Director of Education
The Barnes Foundation

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).