August 31st, 2009
Charlotte museums hope debut will make a big impression
Charlotte Business Journal - by Erik Spanberg Senior staff writer
When the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture opens on Oct. 24, it will mark the first milestone in the city’s $126.9 million investment in a South Tryon Street cultural campus aimed at redefining arts in the region.
Joining the Gantt Center in rapid succession will be the Knight Theater, with scattered events staged in the fall followed by a grand opening on Jan. 8, and The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, which debuts with a private New Year’s Eve fund-raising gala before opening to the public on Jan. 2.
Local arts leaders say the initial reception for the Gantt and Bechtler museums could go a long way toward making the cultural campus an encore attraction.
“It does set the stage,” says Phil Kline, executive director at The Mint Museum. As the museums open in staggered fashion, “it keeps giving people a reason to come down to the campus.”
That cascade of venues will culminate in fall 2010, when the final piece of the cultural campus, The Mint Museum, opens.
The yearlong blitz of openings sets the stage for a major push by the tourism sector to attract more visitors. It also gives the Arts & Science Council much-needed momentum to make the stretch run on an $83 million endowment campaign that remains $21 million short of its goal.
For the moment, arts leaders are focused on short-term concerns. Everything from logos and Web sites to installing exhibits and setting projections must be largely resolved in the weeks ahead.
At the same time, they’re hoping to spread the word by working with larger organizations such as the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, ASC and media word-of-mouth.
Visitors authority Chief Executive Tim Newman points to constant touting of the new museums in brochures, convention bids and on the tourism group’s Web site as proof of the cultural campus’ expected impact.
At each step of the way, from approval of the projects to early renderings and updated construction photos, the visitors authority has made the museums and other attractions a recurring theme in its recruiting pitches.
Those assists are crucial, since the museums themselves plan limited advertising campaigns. Executives at the Gantt Center and The Bechtler acknowledge they’re working with shoestring marketing budgets.
They’re conservative in other areas as well. The Bechtler has three full-time employees, while the Gantt Center has seven. Both will add a few workers after opening and rely on a slew of part-time staffers to operate everything from museum stores to ticket booths.
“Everybody would always say they wished they had more money,” says John Boyer, president at The Bechtler Foundation, operator of the art museum.
He anticipates a $2 million annual operating budget, with a projected 45,000 visitors during the first year.
Arts leaders must balance brighter financial prospects — center-city locations should mean more visitors — with greater costs.
At the Gantt Center, taking on utilities, maintenance and other expenses formerly paid by the city will cost the museum an additional $150,000 per year.
The Bechtler will open with 135 pieces of art never before offered in a comprehensive exhibit, including works by Degas, Picasso and Klee.
At the Gantt Center, the 58-piece Hewitt Collection, considered among the best compilations of African-American art in the country, will take up permanent residence as a gift from Bank of America Corp. It includes work by Romare Bearden, a renowned African-American painter and Charlotte native.
Both museums are hoping to draw larger, more diverse crowds by ramping up ambitious targeted attractions. Those include touring exhibits, film series, lectures and musical performances.
Special events such as private receptions and corporate meetings will create additional revenue and expose the museums to more potential repeat customers.
