To The Editor:
Let me please clarify certain facts and misperceptions in the Hartford Business Journal’s July 16 article about the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art encourages an open dialogue with the press, and the future direction of the Museum is healthy and vibrant. The Wadsworth Atheneum may be in a temporary transitional period as it currently searches for a new director, but the financial state of the organization remains strong.
Having recently ended our fiscal year June 30, our most current and complete financial statement for the year 2005-2006 is a matter of public record, showing an increase in net assets of $883,000 over fiscal year 2004-2005. This growth was fueled in great measure by the commitment and support of our donors who in 2006 made our Annual Fund the most successful in our history, raising over $1.3 million. In a period when museum attendance nationwide is waning and has not substantially recovered from the 2001 9/11 disaster that kept people away from public places, the Atheneum has been pleased to maintain its loyal audiences.
Our plans for exhibits and programming are vigorous and celebrate the Museum’s remarkable ability to offer diverse programming with extraordinary works of art from all periods. Phoenix Art after Hours (first Thursdays at the Atheneum) and our Aetna Theater Film Program are but two of the initiatives that provide lively cultural entertainment on a regular basis. Next year we present a not-to-be-missed major international traveling exhibition, Impressionists by the Sea.
For any who question the viability, integrity or intensity of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, I invite you to visit and experience the impassioned spirit of art that is alive and well. “A picture speaks louder than words” could never be more apt and will undoubtedly change the most dubious of minds and impress viewers. There will always be change as great institutions like ours grow and evolve, nonprofits will always wage up-hill financial battles, but with certainty the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art will always survive and flourish.
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Coleman H. Casey
President of the Board of Trustees
Wadsworth Atheneum
Hartford
