Description

The Asheville Art Museum is in dire need of ready funds to support its staff and operations at this moment of severe earned-revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter attached here, AAM’s director, Pam Myers, requests an emergency grant of $150,000 for salary and operations support. I wholeheartedly recommend approval of the proposed emergency grant.  The funds would be drawn from the American Art Program’s 2020 allocation.
The Luce Foundation made its first grant to the AAM in 2016, to support the reinstallation of the permanent collection in the renovated and newly expanded museum. The new museum has been received enthusiastically by a much-expanded audience, but the loss of the projected high revenues in its first year after reopening has created a significant, unanticipated challenge to its operations.
The Foundation’s support of the Asheville Art Museum’s talented and highly committed staff at this critical moment, through this emergency grant, is a rapid and effective way to assist them in keeping their staff whole and active through these months of unprecedented challenges to the museum sector.