Carriage House, Islip Art Museum (Built in 1910, the Carriage House is one of the few remaining examples
of Edwardian shingle architecture at the turn of the century.)
UPDATES
via Artnet News, Aug 14:
ISLIP ART MUSEUM ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
The Islip Art Museum
in Islip, N.Y., long a home for experimental art on Long Island, is
facing probable closure as the town looks to grapple with a $10-million
budget hole by laying off city workers. After what Newsday
called "a rowdy and emotionally charged" meeting on Tuesday, the Islip
Town Board voted to let go of 97 city workers -- including, it seems,
the entire museum staff.
Islip Museum director Mary Lou Cohalan told Artnet Magazine that the Town of Islip was in negotiation with the nonprofit Islip Arts Council
about taking over the museum, but that negotiations would take at least
four months, while layoffs will come much sooner. "Closing for any
length of time will have a negative impact on our audience, on our
schedule (we will have to cancel exhibits) and on our reputation with
our grantors," said Cohalan.
via NEWSDAY:
At emotional meeting, Islip approves worker layoffsAugust 11, 2009
By JENNIFER MALONEY
jennifer.maloney@newsday.com
At a rowdy and emotionally
charged meeting Tuesday, the Islip Town Board adopted a resolution to
lay off 97 workers - but also approved an amendment that calls for
reducing that number next month if the union offers money-saving
concessions.
Town
officials said the workforce reduction will help fill a projected
$10-million budget hole in 2010 caused by falling mortgage tax and
interest revenues. Without it, residents would face a 25 percent
increase in their town taxes, they said.
The
4-1 vote was preceded by an hour of public comments in which town
employees, union representatives, residents and political candidates
pleaded with the board to avoid layoffs.
"I
have a family, a house; I'm about to send my daughter to college in two
weeks," said Martin Lubliner, 48, a 28-year town security guard. "I
hope that in your heart, you can find some compassion for myself and
the many fine employees of the town."
The town will now forward a list of 86 full-time and 11 part-time positions slated for elimination to the Suffolk County Civil Service
Department for review, town officials said. The amendment calls for the
town board to revisit the list at its Sept. 15 meeting and, if union
negotiations have produced savings, reduce the number of layoffs.
Speakers
criticized the cuts to public safety, the town's animal shelter and the
Islip Art Museum, which is slated to lose its entire staff. The town is
seeking to transfer stewardship of the museum to a nonprofit arts
organization.
Tempers ran hot as
Supervisor Phil Nolan, a Democrat, and Councilman Steven Flotteron, the
board's only Republican, verbally sparred during the public comment
period and in the debate preceding the vote - each accusing the other's
party of fiscal mismanagement.
The
nearly 200 people who packed Town Hall jeered and whistled in response.
Flotteron made a motion to table the layoff resolution. It was not
seconded.
Flotteron also
attempted to introduce an unscheduled resolution that would cut
salaries, revoke take-home cars and require health insurance
contributions for elected, appointed and management positions with
salaries over certain thresholds.
Nolan declined to entertain the motion because it was not on the agenda and the board members had not had time to consider it.
As
the board prepared to vote, Richard Hendershot, vice president of the
town workers' union, Teamsters Local 237, stood and shouted: "We have
an opportunity here to save jobs. Don't send these people out the door!"
Councilman
Christopher Bodkin responded, "All of us in every way feel for you, and
understand the tragedy of being laid off. We also see our
responsibility to the taxpayers."
+++
Dear readers,
Please consider writing an email or letter today in support of the Islip Art Museum.
For updates and more info see my Facebook thread;
For more details and a really good sample letter see Art Fag City;
Article in Newsday: Islip Town to vote on layoffs to close $10M budget gap. (August 10, 2009).
received Friday Aug 7, via email:
The government of the town of Islip is intending to lay off all the
staff of the
Islip Art Museum, the letters are going out on Monday [
today].
They seem to think they can do what they want as they might not know
that there is support for this institution by a wider community.
As you may know the Islip Art Museum has been a beacon of contemporary
art showing artists from all over the world. We have received much
critical attention over the past 30 years or so. We are the only
institution to show such work between New York City and the Hamptons.
We are an educational institution bringing contemporary art to an
underserved community. Let the councilmen know that this is a loss and
that you care about it.
Please contact people you know, not just artists, and ask them to lobby on our behalf. Something simple is good, like:
The Islip Art Museum is one of the most valuable resources for young
artists in the tri-state area. I understand that you are considering
laying off the entire staff, a move that would effectively close the
Museum. I know fiscal problems are everywhere--nonetheless, I urge you
not to eliminate this important cultural institution.
Please send a letter and an e-mail to the following officials and ask anyone you know to do the same.
Phil Nolan, Supervisor
Christopher Bodkin, Councilman
Steven Flotteron, Councilman
John Edwards, Councilman
Gene Parrington, Councilman
The address is:
Islip Town Board
Town Hall
655 Main Street
Islip, NY 11751
About the Islip Art Museum:
The Islip Art Museum is the leading exhibition space for
contemporary art on Long Island. The Museum presents five exhibitions a
year in its main galleries. Exhibitions are organized to reflect issues
and concerns in the current art world.
Our exhibitions attract a
wide range of the New York and international art world to Long Island.
In addition to an ambitious exhibition program featuring contemporary
art by new and emerging artists, we also present lectures, fine art
classes for adults and children, and workshops and tours for all age
groups....
Our landmark
structure next to the Islip Art Museum, the
Carriage House, is Long
Island's center for experimental art. We present three exhibitions a
year at this site, including one based on an open call for proposals.
Artists are invited to submit proposals in a variety of artistic media
for presentation in this building.
We
maintain a growing Permanent Collection of works by leading
contemporary artists, focusing on those with ties to Long Island.
Changing exhibitions are presented in the Permanent Collection Gallery.
» 1 comment
I don’t envy those who have to redesign the website for a museum – balancing institutional structure and needs with the requirement that it reflect the appropriate aesthetic. Moreover, the process of transitioning a sensibility to the web in itself requires decisions about what the organization represents – a staid, classical collection would justifiably be nervous about embracing an open engagement of the general public.
The Metropolitan Museum, for example, probably won’t be holding a contest on YouTube any time soon. Its website, which looks like it was created by a medium sized corporation in 2002, is staid, muted, and tucked behind a splash screen. The Museum of Modern Art’s website, by contrast, is, well, modern, with a palette and structure that would bore Mies van der Rohe. It’s the Obama of websites – so cool, it’s dull.
Late last night, the Whitney Museum of American Art, known for its modern and contemporary exhibitions and its Biennial, unveiled the latest example from this world. It’s a great improvement over what was there yesterday, though that’s a low hurdle to conquer. Yesterday, the site was a card catalog. Today, it’s a website.
What establishes the Whitney’s new site as a success is not the aesthetic revamping with which, frankly, I’m not impressed. Various elements are laid in a casual grid, anchored by the logo, nice and big, at the top. The navigation is awkward, with elements jumping to the head of the line to show additional options once clicked. The background is either black or white, in order to accommodate a conceptually interesting feature in which it changes when the sun in New York rises or sets. (That would be at 4:41 this afternoon or 6:40 tomorrow morning for those wanting to witness it.) As I said – conceptually interesting. In practice, though, it tends to make the site feel a bit flat, and perusing the collection is negatively impacted by the black background. (White borders would do wonders.)
That’s particularly a shame, because said perusal and its accompanying tools are the real hook to the site. The collection itself is easy to navigate and well indexed. Every page, one notices, has at the bottom a small dot which, when clicked, adds an item to your “custom collection” (assuming you take advantage of the free registration, which you ought to do). This is not unique – the afore-mentioned MoMA site has a similar function – but the Whitney takes it further. When, above, I said every page, I meant every page. In addition to works of art, you can add artists, site elements, upcoming exhibits, even the contact page. Collections are an opportunity to interact with more than the art – you can in essence create your own museum website.
[read full article]