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September 2003
This month marks our one-year anniversary. General attendance has
been good, and we are particularly pleased to see University
classes from a wide variety of campus units from within LAS,
FAA, Engineering, and GSLIS making use of the Museum. Our calendar
for guided tours was nearly always fully booked, and attendance
at our special events often exceeded our auditorium capacity.
Over
the past year the museum hosted a number of special exhibitions
in our focus gallery beginning with the Horowitz Collection
of brass rubbings from Britain followed by Bronze Age Trade in
the
Mediterranean, and Beethoven and the Creative Process. Each
exhibition featured special lectures from experts in the field.
For our anniversary,
we co-hosted with Japan House a special campus event. Hakubi
Kyoto Kimono Schools and Cultural Foundation
for
Promoting the National Costume of Japan were kind enough
to loan
the Museum kimonos for display in our Focus Gallery. We were
also honored by the visit of more than 80 guests who had
come from Japan
to take part in our opening and other related campus activities.
Japan House and the Museum are especially proud of the success
of this joint venture, which in its entirety was attended
by nearly the entire University administration as well as a large
contingent
from the public sector including the Consulate General of
Japan
and his wife.
Our plans
for future exhibitions in our Focus Gallery include Korean dolls,
Pow Wow, life in West Africa and the indigenous
art and
ecology of South America. We hope the success of working
with other units and co-hosting events carries through
to our other
offerings.
By sharing responsibilities we feel we can reach a larger
audience and provide cultural experiences of the highest
quality.
The Museum,
like all campus units, has faced budget issues requiring some
cutbacks in operation, particularly in our
hours open to
the public. However, the savings are returned to our
programs so that
we can continue to offer superb new exhibitions in our
Focus Gallery. With a stronger emphasis on visitor donations
and
help from our
Board, Guild, and friends at large, we hope to be able
to continue offering programs and exhibits at our current
level.
Thank you for your support throughout our first year
of operation. |
