After evaluating the institution’s peak hours, the Everson Museum has decided to cut back how often it’s open.

The museum will be closed on Tuesdays starting March 18, said Sarah Massett, the interim director of the Everson Museum. After the Board of Directors evaluated the institution’s peak times, they took the measure to cut costs.

The new hours are essentially the same as the summer hours, said Massett. The museum will keep extended hours on Thursdays, when more people visit the institution. It won’t reduce staff hours or positions, she added.

When asked how much money the Everson Museum would save switching to this schedule, Massett said she didn’t want to mention a specific amount because the budget includes expenses like electricity, security and utilities. However, she said it will save “a significant amount.”

At the end of the summer, the museum staff will evaluate the hours, she said.

“As always, we are always evaluating usership, when we have the most visitors, when is the best time to have the galleries open for visitors, so that’s something we do on an ongoing basis,” she said.

Galleries will be open noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. On Thursdays, the Everson Museum will keep its extended hours of noon to 8 p.m. Saturday hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Stephen Butler, the executive director of CNY Arts, a regional arts council that supports arts and culture programs throughout Central New York, said he thinks the museum is looking to reposition itself financially. But that doesn’t mean that it will close in the immediate future.

“It’s not in jeopardy of closing its doors, but they do want their operations to be in the black, so I think they are looking for that formula that will do that on an ongoing basis,” he said.

The Everson Museum hasn’t requested more funding for general operating support from CNY Arts, Butler said. In fact, the museum’s general operating support has increased by 7.5 percent in the past two years, he said.

This is not the first time the Everson Museum had to take cost-saving measures. In late January, the Board of Trustees voted to cancel two traveling exhibits that were scheduled to visit this year. The museum is expected to run a deficit of $500,000 for 2013 and 2014, according to a Jan. 27 press release. The exhibits “Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums” and the “African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond” were expected to increase its losses to $750,000.

Gary Radke, an art history professor at SU, said he thought the museum cutting its hours was “most unfortunate,” but it’s not unusual. Many cultural institutions like museums or theater companies have to make cuts to make money.

“Most times it isn’t highly effective,” Radke said. “It’s something that has to be done from an administrative standpoint.”

Butler said CNY Arts will continue to support the Everson Museum and other institutions with their finances.

“We’re with them in collaboration to create more activity and participation in arts and culture,” he said. “We hope that these trends of having to reduce hours can be reversed.”

Published on March 5, 2014 at 2:01 am

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