by Beth Slater
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art seems to have a strong foothold in North Florida, as modern and contemporary art have grown from a misunderstood form into an appreciated one.
Jane Craven, CEO and president of JMOMA, spoke to the Rotary Club of Jacksonville during Monday’s lunch meeting at the Omni. Craven talked about the history and future of the museum.
Like many people, Craven said she used to have no appreciation for contemporary art, until she met a professor in a gallery while studying at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
“He said, ‘What is that?’ (referring to a necklace worn by a portrait subject). I said it was a necklace and he told me to look closer. I said it was a sapphire necklace and he said it was just two brush strokes, a blue one and a white one to give it shine,” she said. “And then I got it. I just got it. Then I could appreciate that the compositions didn’t necessarily have anything to do with reality.”
Craven said she thinks JMOMA is filling a cultural need for the entire Jacksonville community.
“The summer camp has been filled to capacity. The current exhibit has been very popular, I think because it’s interactive and people can touch it,” she said. “The exhibition series fills a need of today, providing art by living artists.”
JMOMA has changed during Craven’s tenure as CEO. She began working with the museum when it had just changed from the Jacksonville Art Museum to the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art.
“When I started five years ago, our first task was to pack up the collection and put it in storage,” said Craven. “We had to develop the new museum and we did a low-key public image campaign of what we wanted to achieve. We started raising money and focused on fundraising, but we didn’t have much time to think about how to operate the museum. It was a real learning experience for us.”
Craven told the Rotarians about how much planning went into opening JMOMA downtown.
“The renovations cost $6.3 million, and that included furniture and fixtures. That was raised in a capital campaign led by Preston Haskell,” she said.
Local artists were part of the plan as well.
“When we were designing the museum, we reserved space for local artists on the fifth floor. About every two months we change it out. We advertise that as we do for regular exhibitions. (Chief curator and deputy director) George Kinghorn will meet with and help develop the program; it’s like a mentorship,” she said.
Attendance at the museum continues to increase as a result of the renovations and relocation to downtown.
“I don’t know what the attendance was at the old building. We have 40,000 visitors a year now and our goal is 100,000 a year,” Craven said. “Word of mouth is probably the most important (way for visitors to find out about JMOMA). We make sure visitors have a positive experience.”
The new main branch library should help JMOMA’s attendance to grow, Craven said.
“I think there will be a lot of joint programs that we work together on. It will be mutually beneficial. Our visitors will go to the new library and library visitors will take a look at the museum,” she said.
Craven also talked about some of the upcoming exhibitions.
“I think people should look forward to the fall show. There will be a great painting series in September and a whole new film series,” said Craven.
“30th Parallel: A Convergence of Contemporary Paintings” will open Sept. 15. The second Downtown Art Summit will be Oct. 22 and a photo exhibit will be the showcase in January.