Local Art Only

What do you want a museum to do for the art community? Do you want local artists to be featured in every show or should the art be selected by a jury based on the juror’s individual opinions?

You know we are lucky to have a fine art museum in a town so small. Usually to support a museum you need a much larger community. A larger base means even when times get tough there are enough people to support the museum.

But here on the South Coast we don’t have that huge base. There are just three groups who maintain the museum.

There are the very wealthy who may understand the contribution the museum makes to the cultural life of all of the people on the South Coast. They may just contribute because it feels right. And that is a very good thing. Having the more affluent members of the community on your side is important. They do have all of the money, you know.

There are the volunteers, who give of their time and talents. Without these self-less workers, they museum could not function. They are there every day, behind the scenes doing the drudge work so that when a show or an opening comes around there are people to man the oars.

There are the artists. They are the ones who benefit the most from having a museum in their town. If there were no museum, life would go on. The nice folks in Roseburg are very welcoming to South Coast artists and the many galleries and art venues allow any artist a chance to have their work on public display.

So why do we need a Museum of Fine Art on the South Coast?

We need it because it offers the community an irreplaceable opportunity to see and experience all kinds of art, fine and not so fine. It exposes children to art and creates a new generation of art followers and artists. They're not going get it anywhere else.

It would be very easy to limit the shows the museum produces to local artists. After all there’s nothing like seeing your work hanging on the walls to make you feel accomplished. But is that all you want?

There are at least two venues in town which will hang any artists work without any limitation. So what does the museum have that Josie’s On Broadway and the Oregon Bay Properties don’t offer, national recognition, regional input and the critical analysis missing from an event which just allows anyone to compete.

And no I don’t like being excluded from Expressions West or The Maritime Show because I don’t paint, but thems the rules and you gotta live with them or organize your own show.

The artists of the South Coast need to reflect on just how important the museum is. If it really doesn’t provide a service to the community then allowing it to fade away from neglect and under support is the right thing to do.

If there is some greater good which comes from having a Museum of Fine Art, in our community, don’t let economic hard times strip the community of this precious resource.