Negotiating budget cuts artfully

Author: Melissa Marshall

Students are probably more upset by a locked door standing between them and a Saturday afternoon Dr. Feelgood than the postponement of a Museum of Art exhibition, but whether they are aware or not, the vibrant Middlebury arts community must stare down the black-and-white margins of operating budgets like the rest of the College.

And while it is far from selling off its collection, as Brandeis University announced last month, many departments and programs are trying to survive an economic climate notoriously unfriendly towards the arts.

"We've been asked to look at a core mission and look how we can reduce expenses and operate as effectively as possible," said Museum Director Richard Saunders.

These reductions include such small steps as cutting back advertising funds and looking at electronic alternatives instead of paper printing to the more dramatic reconstruction of exhibitions.

"We try to plan at least three years in advance when it comes to exhibitions. We have fortunately not had to cancel any exhibits, but there is one show we would very much like to do at one point, which we have decided to postpone because we think it's not the right climate to pursue it as it would involve a lot of travel," said Saunders. "We wanted to assemble the 'Middlebury Families Collect' exhibit that would showcase works owned by Middlebury alumni, parents and friends of the College, but in order for that show to be organized someone has to look at all of those works and make decisions. Instead, we've replaced it with an exhibition that is going to celebrate the past 40 years of gifts to the museum from our Friends of the Art Museum program."

As shown in the Museum's thoughtful assemblage of a new, more financially feasible exhibit, innovation and creativity flourish in the College's art programs and departments on the economic level as well.

"I have been imaginative and there are some prospects of inexpensive and very talented performers," said Director of the Performing Art Series Paul Nelson.

And it's not just the coordinators that have to be flexible - artists as well are contorting themselves to fit the economic condition.

"From a programmer point of view and from the point of a view of a performer, there is a realization of an economic crunch, and I have renegotiated contracts to lower fees," said Nelson. "The whole arts economy is impacted. One of the consequences is that artists are being more flexible about fees."

And while the College will still host big names - including a performance by Thomas Hampson, the Metropolitan Opera baritone - and headliners such as the Emerson Quartet, the Takacs Quartet and Paul Lewis, students can expect a definite shift from established giants to more under-the-radar artists.

"We will surely present fewer very high-end performances - world's greatest pianist kind of thing - than this year," said Nelson.

At $5 per ticket in a struggling economy, it is surprising that more students do not take advantage of such renowned performers as cellist Sophia Shao who took the stage at the Kevin P. Mahaney '84 Center of the Arts (MCFA) in January - an attendance trend that will hopefully improve in the coming months.

"We have a heightened awareness now of our great privileges," said Dance Department Chair Penny Campbell.

And while such sacrifices as the loss of a noon cup of coffee with the closure of Rehearsals Caf