by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens’ “Temples and Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from The British Museum” exhibit is leaving Jacksonville in five days, and the Director of the Museum Maarten van de Guchte said the exhibit was a big success.
“The exhibit has been a tremendous success,” said van de Guchte. “We made projections based on earlier exhibitions and I think we will break the 50,000 visitor mark.”
The revenue the exhibit has generated was not the only positive outcome.
“Not only were the ticket sales a success, but so was the museum store and there was an increase in membership,” he said. “All in all it was a tremendous success for us.
“It was a great way to introduce the new Mason Gallery to Jacksonville.”
The museum’s goal was to bring in 50,000 visitors to view the exhibit and van de Guchte said by the end of the day Sunday, they will pass that mark. As of yesterday afternoon about 47,000 people had seen the exhibit.
“We will easily make or break 50,000 visitors, which was our intended goal,” he said.
Another goal the museum wanted to accomplish was to increase their membership. With 50,000 visitors over three months, the potential for new members certainly existed.
“We set a certain goal and we have gone far beyond that goal,” said van de Guchte. “It is very invigorating.”
Van de Guchte said Monday the museum staff will analyze the attendance figures closely.
“If this pattern is correct, the Cummer (Museum) will be able to bring more exhibits like ‘Temples and Tombs’ to Jacksonville,” he said.
Van de Guchte believes having this exhibit has both helped the Cummer Museum as well as Jacksonville.
“This exhibit, coming from London, has demonstrated that the Cummer (Museum) is capable of attracting a big exhibit like this and the public has taken notice of that,” he said. “The exhibit showed off Jacksonville as well as the Riverside area.”
The museum has been keeping a close eye on where the visitors are coming from by keeping track of their zip codes. Van de Guchte said they have had visitors from Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee, Savannah, Ga., and Montgomery, Ala. But that is not all. Van de Guchte added they have seen visitors from 10 different states and tourists from five different European countries and Japan.
Tickets to the exhibit are still available through Sunday.
“It is very busy around here. Everybody is suddenly realizing that the last day is Sunday,” said van de Guchte.
A team of three is arriving from London on Friday and first thing Monday morning they will be joined by about 12 others to remove the exhibit from the museum.
“They (the team from London) are scheduled to be here for 10 days,” said van de Guchte. “Aside from our staff, we have more people coming in from Chicago and New York.
“It has to be done with great care. Only the London curators can handle the exhibit.”
The next exhibit the Cummer Museum will showcase in the Mason Gallery is “Rather Strange Developments: Picasso, Kandinsky, and Mandrian from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute.”
When asked if the Cummer Museum will ever top the “Temples and Tombs” exhibit, van de Guchte said, “There are always more and better exhibits in the future.
“It was certainly exhilarating to work on this exhibit and we are very gratified by the responses we received (from the public).”
Temples and Tombs
Admission prices:
Adults - $15
Seniors, Military,
Students - $12
Museum Members - $7
Children under 6 - Free
Hours:
Wednesday-Friday
10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday-Monday
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
*Museum hours will return to normal March 20*