Hello all!

CLASH BETWEEN MANAGEMENT VALUES & ARTISTIC VALUES IN ART MUSEUMS

I am writing to ask for information and opinions in connection with a
thesis I am doing for the Arts Management Program at the American
University, WDC.  The subject is the clash between management values and
artistic values in the American art museum.  My focus is on interviews
with professionals in the field - museum directors, curators,
administrators and trustees.  My own museum experience is at the Corcoran
Gallery of Art (1979-1989), first in the curatorial department and later
as director of corporate relations and special events.

I have completed nearly twenty interviews and informal talks with museum
professionals and welcome comments and suggestions on the subject.  Also,
if you have or are aware of any recent articles or papers on the subject,
I would appreciate that information as well.

Please contact me on-line:   [log in to unmask]

    or by regular mail:     Elizabeth C. Punsalan
                            Department of Performing Arts
                            Arts Management Program
                            The American University
                            4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
                            Washington, D.C.  20016-8053

A statement of thesis follows:

Art museums throughout the United States have experienced dysfunction
because of conflict between artistic and managerial goals.  Although the
situation has been apparent for at least two decades, it has intensified
in recent years.  The hypothesis of this thesis is that an analysis of
values and structure within selected museums may provide resolutions to
this dysfunctional situation, saving museums time and money while they
develop complementary short and long range goals and projects.

Seven museums in the private and public sector representing different
geographical areas and institutions of varying sizes have been chosen in
order to examine this conflict.  (For the names of the selected museums
please make a specific inquiry to [log in to unmask]).

When American museums became public institutions in the late nineteenth
century, the emphasis at that time was on the display of art and the
strength of the curatorial staff.  Directors frequently had art history
and curatorial backgrounds.  Museum goals were to achieve excellence in
the acquisition, preservation and exhibition of art.

In the 1960s, a reexamination and a rethinking of museum fuctions by
professionals and the public alike resulted in a determination to seek
larger and more diverse audiences.  Management influences and changes
within many art museums caused increased attendance.  As attendance
increased from 200 million in 1965 to 600 million in 1995, there
developed a need for even more managerial change.  Because exhibitions
were now developed to attract larger and more diverse audiences, there
was an increasing emphasis on non curatorial jobs such as public
relations, marketing and fund raising.  Curators were no longer the only
important component of the professional museum staff.

In 1980, of fourteen museum occupations listed in MUSEUM NEWS, only two
were related to external affairs functions:  public relations and
membership.  However, by 1995, 17% of all AAM members held positions in
development, membership, marketing or public relations.  Larger museums
now include external affairs staff for corporate and foundation
relations, special events, volunteer resources, visitor services and
audience development.  There are also internal management positions in
human resources, buildings and grounds, information systems, and in
financial and legal areas.  The curatorial professions, which include
curators, registrars, conservators, and educators, have not expanded to
the same extent.  For example, within the last ten years the Corcoran
Gallery of Art has created positions for public programs, corporate and
foundation relations, volunteer services, and marketing, while its number
of curatorial positions has remained the same.

This thesis will examine changes which brought about dysfunction in art
museums over the past two decades from the point of view of curators and
other artistic professionals and will compare their views to the views of
museum directors and managers.  The examination will consider these
questions:  is a museum driven by its collection and its mission, or by a
need to increase audiences and funding?  Or by both?  Do art museums
focus on measuring quantity at the expense of quality?  Strategic
planning is now a central function of management;  is the curatorial
staff integrated into this planning process?  There has been little study
of the dichotomy between the creative and business components of the art
museum.  This research will provide insights and recommendations.  It
will ncourage members of the art museum community to enter into a
collaborative dialogue surrounding this challenge.