DONATE NOW TO THE CRMA FLOOD RELIEF FUND!
Friday June 20, 2008
CURRENT STATUS OF THE CEDAR RAPIDS MUSEUM OF ART. The Museum is currently closed and all summer events are canceled. We have electricity, telephone service, and email. We hope to reopen in a limited capacity around Labor Day, but it is likely to be many months before the full Museum is open to the public.
THE CHALLENGE AHEAD. The Museum has already begun the lengthy process of carefully drying, cleaning and sanitizing the basement and collection storage areas so that the collection can eventually be returned to storage. The entire exhibition prepartion area was destroyed. Nearly all of the frames, tools, equipment, vitrines, crates, supplies and other materials housed in storerooms, the woodshop, and the exhibition preparation rooms were unsalvageable and the entire artwork storage system is in jeopardy. The Museum’s share of the cleanup and replacement costs are likely to exceed $250,000.
BACKGROUND. In the days following June 12, 2008, more than nine square miles of Cedar Rapids lay under the flood waters of the Cedar River. At the height of the flooding, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art was nearly surrounded by water. While the Museum ultimately did not take in any flood waters, we did receive approximately nine inches of water which backed up into the basement and collection storage area as the flooding overcame the City’s sewage system and created a powerful backwards surge.
THE COLLECTION. Thanks to the hard work of staff and volunteers, nearly all artwork was removed from the art storage collection area into upper floor galleries or was moved to higher places within art storage before there was any danger. Less than 5% of the Museum’s collection has been affected by water and high humidity levels and these items are being examined and monitored by conservators. The remainder of the collection has been moved into temporary storage in the Museum’s galleries.
THE GRANT WOOD STUDIO. The Grant Wood Studio was not affected by the flooding. However it will remain closed until early July so that Museum staff can concentrate on work at the Museum itself.
VOLUNTEERS. We have received many gratifying inquiries from friends of the Museum that want to be involved and would like to volunteer. But at this point we are not using any volunteers.
HOW YOU CAN HELP. You can help by making a contribution to the Museum that will aid in the cleanup and recovery efforts. As always, your membership renewal and annual fund contribution will be necessary for our ongoing operational costs. I urge you to consider an extra gift to the annual fund to help with our disaster recovery expenses.
The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art looks forward to being part of a stronger Cedar Rapids and a revitalized downtown district.
Terry Pitts
Executive Director