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Oakland
Museum Of California Board Of Trustees Annual Meeting Minutes
Annual/Regular
Meeting Minutes
May 24, 2007
JAMES MOORE THEATER
5:30 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Trustees
Steven Anderson, Dale Block, John Bowe, Brian Cherry,
Ralph Clark, Matthew Cox, Christopher Curtis, Richard DeAtley,
Steven Douglas, Rich Edwards, Lori Fogarty, Virginia Furth, Lance
Gyorfi, Anthony Harris, Tamra Hege, Joe Hurwich, Anita Martinez,
John McDonnell, Christopher McLain, Marianne Robison, Deborah
Roessler, Katherine McKenney Shea, Sandra Wolfe, Penelope Wong,
and Sheryl Wong.
Trustees
Excused:
Susan Chamberlin, Jacqueline Kane, John McDonald, Darren Oliver,
Margaret Russell, Timothy Silva, and Bruce Westphal.
Staff
Present:
Inez Brooks-Myers, Barbara Henry, Dorothy Hood, Drew Johnson,
Aimee Klask, Linda Larkin, Susana Macarron, Bill McMorris, Mark
Medeiros, Claire Meyler, Catherine Millar, Karen Nelson, Cherie
Newell, and Howard Thornton. Volunteers
Present:
Gay Auerbach, Sue Cake, Lois Corrin, Gladys Eaton, Dave Elliott,
Arleen Garfinkle, Patrick Gaughan, Nancy Goddard, Joan Goria,
Doris Kretschmer, Juliane Monroe, Bobbie Neidleman, Andre Ptszynski,
Connie Pyle, Susan Riess, Shirley Schild, Susan Quinn, and Gail
Weininger.
Guests
Present:
Steve Block, Mark Cavagnero, Roslyn Cole, Beth DeAtley, John
Fung, Beverly Galloway, Angela Harris, Estelle Knowland, Denise
Louie, Kathy McLean,
1.
CALL TO ORDER/INTRODUCTIONS – Sheryl Wong
Chair Wong called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. and welcomed
all to the Annual Meeting. The Foundation’s annual Board
calendar has been changed to match the fiscal year which means
the scheduling of the Annual Meeting has been moved from October
to the month of May to coincide with a report on end-of-year
progress and to highlight priorities for the upcoming year.
The annual meeting will also include the election and introduction
of a new class of trustees. The following new trustees were
unanimously elected by the full Board of Trustees via e-mail:
Steven Anderson, Brian Cherry, Ralph Clark, M. Quinn Delaney,
Virginia Furth, Joseph Hurwich, Gerald Johnston, Harold Jones,
Anita Martinez, John McDonnell, and Steven Read. Women’s
Board President Tamra Hege is appointed by virtue of position.
2.
CHAIR’S REPORT – Sheryl Wong
Chair Wong highlighted some of the activities of the year:
• The decision to include all three museum galleries as
well as other educational and visitor amenities in the scope
of the capital project
• Board voted to expand the Capital Campaign to $53 million
• One hundred percent of trustees made pledges and donations to the
campaign
•
Received $500,000 from Women’s Board for campaign with
further support anticipated with the great success of the White
Elephant
Sale
• The Art Guild pledges $250,000 for the Capital Campaign and hopes
to give another $250,000 within the next few years
• Have raised $33,777,914 for the Capital Campaign
• Will soon hire a firm to develop a new graphic identity and Web
site
The Board’s priorities are to complete the quiet phase of
the Capital Campaign and to foster a strong partnership between
the Board, staff, guilds, advisory councils, and the Women’s
Board. Both Linda Larkin, Associate Director of the Capital Campaign,
and Executive Director Lori Fogarty were thanked for all of contributions
and each was presented with flowers.
3.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – Lori Fogarty
The gallery installation plans are moving forward and galleries
will be closed at the end of 2008. Further presentations on the
renovation and reinstallation will be forthcoming at the meeting. 4.
COMMITTEE ON TRUSTEES – Dale Block
Trustee Block presented the 2007/2008 Board of Trustees slate of officers as
follows:
Sheryl Wong Chair
Lance Gyorfi Vice-Chair
Sandra Wolfe Vice-Chair
Richard Edwards Vice-Chair and Treasurer
Christopher McLain Secretary
On a motion duly made and seconded
(Curtis/Shea), the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
RESOLVED, that the 2007/2008 Board of Trustees slate of officers
be approved.
5. MUSEUM
RENOVATION REPORT – Mark Cavagnero
Architect Mark Cavagnero of Mark Cavagnero & Associates,
reviewed plans for the building renovations. A canopy will
cover the stairwell of the Oak Street entrance, which will
give greater visibility from the street. Two enclosures will
be added to the Art Gallery that will increase gallery space
by 6,000 square feet. Zinc will be used for the renovations,
which is a material so light that there is no need for any
restructuring of the building. These changes will be clearly
distinguishable from the original concrete of the building.
Visual renderings of these improvements were presented that
reflect the completion of 100% design development for these
components of the project.
6.
THE FUTURE OF MUSEUMS – Kathleen McLean
A presentation then followed with updates on the
Art and History Galleries as well as an introduction
by Kathy McLean on the context within the museum field
for the kinds of significant and innovative changes the
Museum is proposing.
Ms. McLean is a museum consultant who is aiding museum
staff into thinking in bold new ways on how to present
the museum and the collection. Museums are uniquely suited
to provide learning and educational opportunities and
should be thought of as significant learning environments.
However, museums cannot sustain long term trends of escalating
cost and declining visitorship unless dramatic new ways
are found for the museum to engage the audiences and
participate in the community.
The world that is filled with tensions and disagreements
and museums should continue to be places of refuge
and celebration, places of inquiry and learning and have
programs that encourage dialogue and critical thinking.
It is necessary to create new ways of interacting with
the public and to think of new ways to mentor young
people
to encourage them to become members and participants
of the museum. 7.
ART GALLERY PLANNING OVERVIEW – Drew Johnson
Curator of Photography Drew Johnson said there will
be three themes in the Art Gallery: Explore California (landscape),
Discover Your Identity (people) and Creative California (“art
for art’s sake). New bays will be created for the Dorothea
Lange collection, the ceramics collection, counter culture art, California
design, video art and self-taught artists. There will be a new and
enlarged section for Gold Rush and contemporary art, and the former
Art Special Gallery will be turned over to painting, photography
and crafts of the Arts and Crafts era. Forty-five living artists
in all media have been interviewed for in-gallery video stations.
8.
ART IN INNOVATION PROJECT REPORT – Barbara
Henry and Karen Nelson
Chief Curator
of Education
Barbara Henry
gave an update
of the Art
in Innovation
Project,
funded by
a grant from
the James
Irvine Foundation.
The goal
of the Project
is to determine
ways to create
a more welcoming,
comfortable,
and lively
Art Gallery
where visitors
will find
new ways
to participate,
explore,
and be inspired
by the art
and artists
of California.
A Creative
Technology
Colloquium
was organized
that featured
technology
specialists,
museum
professionals, community
members
and artists who
are interested
in technology
to discuss
their passions
for technology,
what they
see is
its future, and
how it
can be applied
to the
Art Gallery.
Members
from the museum’s
advisory
councils
met to review
new art labels
and provided
feedback
regarding
the use of
technology
and diverse
strategies
for providing
multiple
language
translations.
In a special
session called
Conversations
About Language,
artists,
writers,
composers,
musicians,
poets, dancers,
comedians,
and psychologists
discussed
different
ways of responding
to art in
a museum.
In a Dialogues
With Youth
session,
nineteen
teenagers
from 14 to
19 years
old, shared
there impression
of the Art
Gallery as
well as specific
artworks.
Based on
these
sessions, staff is
in the
process
of developing
new types
of gallery
experiences
including
using
technology that is
relevant
and current;
reveal
more
about how
decisions
are made
and the
process
a museum
uses
to select
and exhibit
works;
maintain
the museum’s
high standards
but also
allow for
other voices
and for visitors
to share
their responses;
and balance
visitors’ preferences
for experiencing
art through
quiet reflection
with other
visitor’s
needs for
more social
interaction
and activity.
Staff will
continue
to conduct
research,
meet with
experts,
community
members,
and a range
of artists
as well as
prototyping
and testing
ideas further.
Interpretive
Specialist
Karen
Nelson
said
Irvine
grant
team
members
have
tested
various
prototype
ideas
in
the
Art Gallery.
Visitors
have
been
interviewed
and
invited to make
comments
about
selected
paintings
and
the accompanying
labels.
Visitor’s
have voted
on selected
artworks
as to whether
they liked
the artwork
or not and
have also
explored
the relationship
between music
and art.
One family
chose art
that was
included
in a Family
Guide then
other families
used the
guide as
they toured
the Art Gallery.
All of these
experiences
were evaluated.
9.
HISTORY PLANNING OVERVIEW – Aimee Klask and Drew Johnson
Over the past several months, a core team has been re-evaluating
the plans for the History Gallery to ensure that there is a
clear “big idea” for the space and to bringing
together the Museum’s goals of enhancing the visitor
experience, welcoming new audiences, and showcasing the outstanding
works in our collection. Some of the highlights noted include
continuation of the Native American people’s story throughout
the gallery and to have a first person contemporary perspective
on the “First Peoples.” The gallery will also very
interactive. For example, the “First Peoples” section
will have a resource area that offers visitors the opportunity
to see how Native baskets are made. Associate Curator Aimee
Klask reviewed the planning process which has included community
involvement through the advisory committees, community meetings
and events as well as scholar review. Drew Johnson said the
gallery will have meaningful multimedia process that will include
the past, present, and the next steps and, also, the gallery
will be dedicated to rigor, accuracy, and relevancy.
10.
ADJOURNEMENT – Sheryl
Wong
Ms. Wong thanked all the meeting presenters for there reports.
There being no further business Chair Wong adjourned the meeting
at 7:20 p.m.
Christopher
McLain
Secretary |
