Fine Arts Center Galleries remain open despite budget crisis

10/10/08 - Art galleries in the University of Rhode Island Fine Arts Center, which have housed unique art collections since the 1970s, are going to remain open despite a budget crisis that Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Winifred Brownell said was the "worst" she can remember. Brownell has been with URI since 1971.During the summer, the galleries were thought to be doomed for closure.

When $17 million in budget cuts were handed down from the state, academic departments had to cut $12 million. The College of Arts and Sciences had to cut $3 million. The galleries cost the university about $170,000 a year, Brownell said, which includes the payroll, installation and other costs.

While the galleries were spared, the college cut the curator position. Curator Judith Tolnick Champa negotiated her retirement.

The proposal to close the galleries drew sympathy from newspapers, including the South County Independent and the Providence Journal. A Web site called "Friends of the Fine Arts Center Galleries" has press releases related to the galleries' closing and statements from URI President Robert L. Carothers and Provost of Academic Affairs Donald DeHayes. A Facebook group called "Save the Galleries!!" includes 571 members.

The galleries also continue to draw support from a number of corporations, including Fidelity Investments. Fidelity has bought student and professional artwork shown in the URI galleries for its collection, Brownell said.

She added that Fidelity also participates in juried exhibitions, where students submit work to be in an art show, and a panel of judges chooses a winner. Fidelity has also provided prize money in the past, Brownell said.

"It's wonderful," she said. "In many ways, corporations today have replaced the kings and queens who were once a patron of the greatest artists. [Fidelity] have become incredible patrons of the arts."

A statement by Tolnick Champa on National Public Radio in July said the galleries not only brought corporate support, but put URI on the cultural and tourism maps. The statement also said it drew attention to URI's profile, and that the arts have become an increasingly important source of state revenue.

The corporate support and high profile of the galleries led some to question why the cuts were made in the first place.

A statement from DeHayes said the College of Arts and Sciences was faced with a difficult decision.

"Brownell had to make very difficult and emotional decisions about what to cut and what to retain within the College of Arts and Sciences," he said.

Brownell said the galleries and the URI Great Performances program, which brought music, song, dance and art to URI, were sacrificed.

"I had to come up with almost $3 million," Brownell said. "I could not cut any continuing employees [such as tenure faculty] and I had to deliver the classes. Almost all of our funding is in personnel. It was not our desire, it was a heart-breaking decision."

An outdated statement from Tolnick Champa still hangs in the hallway of the Fine Arts Center.

"The Fine Arts Center Galleries have been officially closed and will not be re-opening," the statement reads. "I would like to thank all of my many, many patrons and supporters who recognized the work that the galleries achieved under my leadership for the past 17 years ... Onward and upward with the arts. Sincerely, Judith Tolnick Champa."

At the time she wrote the statement, Tolnick Champa was apparently unaware that the galleries would be transferred to the department of art and art history. Brownell said the department officially took over the galleries Sept. 14 - the day after Tolnick Champa's last day.

Bob Dilworth, interim chairman of the department, said the galleries were only closed "momentarily."

"We have resumed jurisdiction of the gallery program," Dilworth said. "We have a full agenda for this year. Right now, we're in a kind of bridge period."

Dilworth said during Tolnick Champa's 17-year tenure as curator of the galleries, she worked independently from the art and art history department, and answered to Brownell, but that didn't cause any friction with the department.

"It never caused any conflicts with the department of art and art history," Dilworth said. "We were in perfect agreement with everythnig Judith did."

In an e-mail to the Cigar, Tolnick Champa said she had built an endowment to help fund the gallery. Brownell said that endowment is going to be combined with university funds, state grants, and private donations to fund the galleries. The university funds, Brownell said, come from the General Fund, the chief source of funding for URI. Brownell said she came up with those funds by making further cuts, which included cutting supply orders in the Dean's Office.