2007 Museum Department Objectives with Accomplishments
Design, construct and sustain a new building for the Whatcom
Museum, and renovate the 1892 Old City Hall for historic interpretation.
(Council Goals 1 and 6)
- Finalized plans for the new downtown Art Museum and Children’s
Museum Building that will help anchor Bellingham’s rising cultural and
civic district. Window replacement began in the 1892 Old City Hall with
a Washington Historical Society grant funding replacement of the most
damaged windows. City funds have been identified to continue the
project.
Provide limited electronic access to the collection to provide a
study gallery for the public. (Council Goals 1, 3 and 6)
- Virtually all the collections, ethnology, and half of the photo
archives are available for electronic research in the Museum’s Photo
Archives public areas. Additional data entry progress is planned for
2008.
Ensure that our education programs, Art Museum, and Children’s
Museum have the appropriate infrastructure to invigorate our programs for
the future. (Council Goals 1, 3, and 6)
- Museum staff has worked with the Bellingham School District and the
Allied Arts Education Project to ensure that the Museum’s education
programs are integral to the arts education planning in the community.
Develop a clear and concise fundraising plan that has the full
support and participation of the Board. (Council Goals 1, 3, and 6)
- The Museum Board of Directors has a committee working on this
process and is coordinating fundraising efforts with the Campaign for
the Arts.
Establish additional support groups for a new teaching gallery
and historical interpretation site. (Goals 1, 3 and 6)
- A series of focus groups will be convened in February and March of
2008 to gather community input and support.
Additional Accomplishments
- Organized and presented 12 exhibitions of history, art, and
Children’s Museum interest.
- Hired a new museum director and began long term plans for
organization and governance of the museum into the future.
- Presented 990 school tours and programs for an attendance of 26,632;
equal to over five programs per day for every school day of the year.
- Organized 197 public programs for an attendance of 16,034; equal to
a special public program more than one out of every two days the museum
is open to the public per year, including 39 weekly Brown Bag Programs
showcasing community entertainment and informational resources.
- Art exhibition publications included a small catalog documenting the
Site Specific installations of regional artists and a brochure of
Bellingham-based painter Todd Horton's show, Love, Murder, Magic.
- A major donation of Northwest art to the Museum was made by a
regional corporation, numbering nearly 100 artworks in a variety of
mediums.
- As of 2007, 81% of the art collection has been evaluated as to the
state of its condition and priorities established for its conservation.
- The Collections Division of the Museum, in collaboration with the
Planning Department (the Bellingham Arts Commission) and the Parks
Department, inventoried and provided an initial physical assessment of
all of the outdoor public art owned by the City.
- Partnered with Planning and Community Development to write a
$150,000 Preserve America Grant to survey three historic Bellingham
Neighborhoods and prepare related historic district nominations for
submittal. This grant was awarded the full amount for two years from
July 2007 - June 2009.
- Worked with the community and City and County governments for the
conservation and reinstallation of the Centennial Lummi totem pole at
the County Courthouse. Whatcom Museum staff procured initial funding
from the National Trust for Historic Preservation Washington State
Heritage Resource Center to bring in a conservator to produce a
conservation report and plan.
- Donations for 2007 included: 15,850 Photographs, 1,800 History
pieces, 400 Ephemera pieces, and 75 Art pieces.
