Museum Success Detailed on Statewide Radio News

On Monday, Oregon Public Broadcasting radio did a news story on how the economy has dealt a major blow to Central Oregon’s arts community. The Museum was included in the story as an example of an organization that is doing well in these challenging times.

Here are some excerpts from Correspondent Ethan Lindsey's report:

The real estate and construction boom earlier this decade provided millions in corporate
dollars for the arts in a region that some say was lacking artistic and cultural support. As quickly as it appeared, that money has now vanished.

Last year, the Cascade Festival of Music announced it was shutting down just two months before it was set to open. And yesterday, the Working Wonders Children’s Museum closed its doors for good after a last-ditch fundraising effort failed to rake in the necessary support.

The High Desert Museum opened in 1982 when Bend was home to just 17,000 residents. The city’s growth has been reflected in the museum’s size, reputation – and budget. The museum now features wildlife exhibits, a bookstore, and classes for school groups.

This class of sixth-graders from High Desert Middle School in Bend is learning about wildfires and forest health in back of the museum. They’re watching a forest made out of shredded paper go up in smoke.

The museum says despite the economy, there are some positives. Attendance was up 14-percent last year – and the museum’s new president Janeanne Upp, says a new game plan has helped bring in new visitors. “First what we did is we identified that we have three seasons: summer, fall, our shoulder, and spring which is school groups. So this summer we tried to do a blockbuster: Masters of the Night, true stories of bats. And that has really brought people in.”

Still, attendance is only a piece of the museum’s budget.More than half of the organization’s budget comes from donations or other fundraising activities, and that number dropped 19-percent last year – or $400,000.

Janeanne Upp: “We’re seeing what other organizations are seeing. Giving is down across the board, whether its corporations, foundations, or individuals.” Upp took over last year. And under her leadership, the museum has laid off employees and cut the budget by
half-a-million dollars. She says that’s put the museum on a much better foundation going forward.

Robin Antonson is the manager of individual giving with the High Desert Museum. “When we go on corporate calls they are very excited about what we’re doing and our exhibits and they want to sponsor and support them. At the same time, the first thing they say is we’ve just had to cut staff and pull back.”

To listen to the full report or read a transcript of it, go to www.opb.org/radio