
An art work that was exhibited at the Jersey City Museum in September 2008 (via flickr.com/bentobox)
Art Fag City has published an extensive report on the financial crisis facing the Jersey City Museum. She paints a grim picture of an institution that is vital to the area’s visual arts community:
Jersey City’s only museum showcasing the work of local emerging artists is in dire financial straits. Artists such as Martha Colburn, Amy Wilson, Louis Cameron, Damien Catera have all exhibited at the Jersey City Museum, a public institution with a now uncertain future. On March 30th the museum announced it would slash its hours to only one day a week (Saturday 12-5) to reduce operating costs.
It had better not. I donated what I could afford to. I hope others will too. It really is a fantastic museum with an exciting schedule of contemporary art exhibits.
Okwui Enwezor, global curator numero uno, is an alumnus of Jersey City College. Does he have any ties to the museum that he could or would leverage? Or was he out of Jersey faster than Paddy Johnson clicks ‘post’ about a conflict of interest?