John,
You make some valid points and I respect your opinion. I just think bidding processes, whether for museum projects or rebuilding the oil industry, should be
marked by transparency and fairness. Obviously, at this point, things must move ahead in Iraq with U.S. help because we started and now we are in the thick of it.
But, as a former small museum administrator, I think inclusion is always the best policy. If you want to build strong alliances and support in your community, then you really must as a governmental institution or a museum -- any type of public
institution -- be fair and open about what you are doing.
Also, today globalism is a factor in everything that we do in the business world and in cultural institutions, too. It is a mistake to shut out the Europeans and Middle Eastern companies who are also very well qualified for this work. You are right that the process cannot be extended over a long period of time -- the rebuilding must begin quickly. But at the same time, companies that live in the area sometimes can accomplish things more quickly and inexpensively than large foreign concerns.
Gee, I worked on a big museum project in Mississippi six years ago. I was amazed at how difficult it was to get supplies. In Atlanta, I just walk into a warehouse and select what I need. In Mississippi, many things had to be ordered from Atlanta or Memphis. Artifact restorers were in New Orleans. I found that local professionals in Mississippi had a better grasp than I, as a Georgian "foreigner" did,
of where to get exhibit supplies and how to get them faster. And I'm talking about construction supplies: special ducts for the new HVAC system that went into the exhibit space, large sheets of plexi-glass, that sort of thing.
I just think we should be supportive of our museum colleagues in Iraq and do whatever we can to help them through this terrible crisis, as well as institute procedures in our own disaster preparedness plans, as Claudia Nicherson suggested a few weeks ago. Looting during a disaster is not just an Iraqi problem.
Finally, it is so great that you, John, as a museum trustee, add to our discussions.
We need to get more museum trustees involved on a serious and practical level.
Cordially,
pamela sezgin