The board of directors for the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science met Monday to discuss the next step for the museum’s future.
The museum has battled financial issues that have kept it from being open for daily operations.
According to Felicia Nowels, the museum board president, the Brogan Musuem has not made plans to close the museum completely.
“In order to even consider dissolution, we need to see the plan for dissolution,” Nowels said. “But it doesn’t mean we’ve voted to close.”
Last year, the board closed daily operations to begin reinventing the museum by focusing more on its science aspects to appeal to a larger audience.
This process, along with fundraisers and other business plans, helped the museum with much of its financial issues.
“In this past year we have greatly reduced the debt,” Nowels said. “We have taken care of more than a quarter of a million dollars of debt.”
Although nothing is set in stone about museum’s closing, some local residents are beginning to consider the impact the closing could have on Tallahassee and its art community.
Kyle Maurey, a Tallahassee resident and graduate from the Savannah School of Art and Design, has visited the Brogan Museum numerous times and said its closing would have a negative impact.
“It would be a big loss for Tallahassee’s art community,” Maurey said. “I feel like a lot around here is just starting to flourish, like Railroad Square with First Fridays and the surrounding downtown area. The museum could be a part of all of that.”
The Brogan Museum’s close proximity to Florida A&M and Florida State University has made it very accessible for professors to bring their students, especially art students.
Kristin Bottary, a graduate of FSU’s School of Art, said the museum was often incorporated into her classes.
“The Mary Brogan Museum was an integral part of everyday education,” Bottary said. “We were often assigned to attend specific exhibits to further our knowledge of the techniques and talents of other artists. It was the only place in Tallahassee to view art brought in from all around and helped to further our understanding of art tremendously.”
Although the museum is not open for daily operations, it will still host special exhibits. The next featured exhibit is “Tibetan Monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery,” which will open Feb. 21-24.