Finally, the Pavilion makes a smart move

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I will have to hand it to the Pavilion on this one. While I was skeptical at first when Larry took over as interim president, I saw he was shaping up the finances rather quickly;

An effort that probably will erase a $300,000 deficit for the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science landed Larry Toll a new job.

The Pavilion announced Tuesday that Toll will become its president, six months after he was named interim president amid the departure of former president Gary Wood and what Pavilion leaders were calling a financial crisis.

Looks like the Pavilion didn’t need someone with an arts background after all, they needed someone who understands math.

Sioux Falls Public Arts in disarray, again.

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I first want to give my thanks to Deb Klebanoff for serving local artists for as long as she did. While I did not agree with her on a multitude of issues, I will admit she worked hard to try to have a mission for SEAC and she was up against some major players;

Deb Klebanoff, executive director of the Sioux Empire Arts Council since 2002, has resigned. Klebanoff, 55, turned in her resignation Friday and no longer is at the council’s headquarters at the Horse Barn Art Center in Falls Park. She said her departure is something she’s been thinking about “for a long time,” and she’s ready to enjoy time off.

I truly believe that this was Deb’s doing. I think she was finally fed up with all the bullshit. Good for her.

“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders, waking up at night wondering how to get things funded and how to get things moving in a new direction,” she said. “The resignation comes from me. It’s my idea.”

And why do I THINK Deb left? First off the huge conflict of interest that exists on it’s board;

“A new director will have some big shoes to fill,” said David Merhib, president of the council’s board of directors. “Over the last eight years, she has made relentless efforts to strengthen the arts in our region.”

Yes, that’s right kiddies, the board president of SEAC is also the director of the visual arts center at the Pavilion. This of course is not a surprise. Merhib was made aware of the many conflict of interests that exist on his own VAC board and fundraisers like ‘Arts Night’ and chose to do nothing about them. While many times the local media has focused on the financial problems at the Pavilion they often never talk about the management issues in the big purple building. How does a place that can’t even manage itself out of a wet paper bag get off advising other arts groups in our community? It reminds me of the time the Pavilion tried to get the contract for the Orpheum theatre and the city went with SMG instead (who has done a fine job of making the place useful). The Pavilion management needs to worry about one thing; THE PAVILION! and keep their f’ing noses out of other non-profit arts orgs in town. Why? Because they do not view these other organizations as beneficial to our community, they view them as competition, and that is really sad.

The Washington Pavilion’s solution to all their problems? Rename the joint.

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Andy is coming! Andy is coming!

I knew about some of these changes a few weeks ago;

The Great Hall at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science will be renamed in honor of a longtime supporter, the late Mary Sommervold, officials announced Thursday.

I will keep my opinion about this to myself.

Two large shows are scheduled at the Pavilion’s Visual Arts Center: an Andy Warhol exhibit in 2011 and photographs by Ansel Adams in 2012. While shows in the six art galleries usually are free, the bigger shows will be ticketed attractions to help support the center.

Whoo-Hooo! Warhol!

In addition, new tenants are on the way to the downtown Sioux Falls landmark at 11th and Main, to help share costs and add to the arts offerings there.

The administrative offices of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Sioux Empire Arts Council will move there from off-site locations in coming months.

The Dakota Academy of Performing Arts soon will move its programming into the Pavilion, too. And a Native American fine arts museum and gallery will be added.

The changes were made possible in part by more than $100,000 in grants the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation gave to local arts organizations, and a special fund drive in Sommervold’s honor that now stands at $580,000.

While some of these changes are probably a good thing, I worry about putting all of these offices under one roof for a number of reasons. While I think these organizations should work together, and I have been a longtime advocate of the Pavilion giving discounts to local non-profit art orgs, like Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues, for example, I wonder if this is a Power Grab for the Pavilion to take control of all the arts orgs in our city. I guess only time will tell. I also find this move interesting only a few days before a new mayor is decided.

The Sioux Empire Arts Council’s administrative office has been in the Horse Barn Arts Center at Falls Park since 1999. It soon will move to the Pavilion.

From her new office, Deb Klebanoff, executive director, says she might have greater visibility and can step up her outreach to the arts community. But she says she hopes that use of the barn for local art exhibits and other community gatherings will continue at Falls Park.

The fate of the Horse Barn, a 100-year-old city-owned building, has not been decided.

Yeah, maybe they will give it back to the artists that were managing the facility just fine until a bunch of elitists stuck their nose where it did not belong.

Maybe it’s time to cut the dead weight at the Pavilion

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Close the Science Center, except the Cinedome and put on more laser music shows. You can use the remaining space for rental/banquets etc.

But Science Cetner ticket sales don’t cover costs there. Its net income was a negative $115,570 in 2008, but that was better than officials had expected when they budgeted for a negative $121,752.

Why would you budget a negative? Sure, it would make sense at the Arts Center that doesn’t charge an admission, but they didn’t even lose that much.

Admission to the six galleries of changing shows is free. It cost the Pavilion $312,765 to run the Visual Art Center in 2008, not as much as the $315,692 it had budgeted for the expenses. Revenues were $260,000, about $6,000 less than budgeted.

But one still asks, where is all the revenue and subsidy money going? I would bet salaries. You have to realize that the Pavilion management company doesn’t have to spend one stinkin’ penny on building upgrades and remodels, that money comes from the city’s capital improvement fund. Nice, huh?