Museums Turn to Universities for Help

Some museums have been hit hard by the economic downturn.  Although most will try to weather this difficult period, some struggling museums have looked at other options.  For a few small or mid-sized museums the answer has been a partnership with a university.  The museum may turn over control of its art to the university or move the exhibit space to campus.  An article in PNNOnline says that both the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon, and the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, California have taken this approach.  The hope is that a university will be more likely to keep the collection intact than would a private collector and will also provide public access.  The decision is a difficult one, however, and recently the Fresno Art Museum decided against a merger with the California State University due to concerns about losing control over where the art would be.  

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