Dallas Museum of Art Bulletin, Fall 1983 Page: 2
24 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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we expect to provide will no doubt require adjustments
in our operational procedures and an increase in staff to
enact them. A more spacious restaurant, the operation of
not one but two auditoriums, a significantly larger and
more accessible library, a Sculpture Garden, and a self-
contained Education Wing, all will undergo early experi-
mentation to determine the most efficient means of
operation. Likewise, policy decisions will be made con-
cerning Museum hours, including evenings and week-
ends, parking procedures, and access to DMA facilities for
special use. Many of these details, only partially predicta-
ble at this stage, must be evaluated before new policies
are institutionalized.
Probably the most critical challenge we face is the
known increase in actual operating costs of the new
building. More funds will be allocated by the City, but it
will be our challenge to seek additional income sources
and to cultivate revenue-producing programs. An endow-
ment fund campaign has been initiated, the purpose of
which is to provide for acquisitions and programs. Its
success will help to offset increased operation expenses,
but the challenge of meeting significantly higher costs
remains a formidable issue.
The fifth major challenge is more difficult to describe
but no less important. Because so many in the Dallas
community have worked so hard for years to achieve the
dream of a new Museum, it is only logical to expect a
relaxation of effort after the opening. Such a natural
tendency is likely to affect all of us, but this attitude of
deserved satisfaction must not be allowed to evolve into a
prevailing posture of complacency There are too many
important goals yet to attain and cultural opportunities
for the people of Dallas to experience. In order to pre-
clude a post-opening letdown, we are committing our-
selves to developing a new set of goals and a long-range
plan to ensure the Museum's continued growth.
A singularly important goal will be to raise funds
needed to establish the Dallas Museum of Art as a na-
tionally recognized institution. In the past ten years the
Museum has raised $75 million, a figure that includes the
1979 bond allocation. We must equal that effort in the
decade ahead if we are to create in every respect the
Museum Dallas deserves, to echo the promise of the
bond campaign. Construction of a wonderful facility of
our art collections is now almost completed, but a truly
great art museum must also sustain an aggressive acquisi-
tions program, which requires substantial investment
funds. Furthermore, leading institutions also produce a
variety of publications, especially scholarly works, as well
as organize travelling exhibitions; both are admirable
goals for us to pursue, but each will necessitate additional
staffing in order to be executed in a professional manner.Another vital consideration is the continued growth of
our education programs, which have played such an inte-
gral part in the Museum's past and will become even
more visible and prolific in its future. Community in-
volvement is important to us, and we welcome the oppor-
tunity to bring the enriching world of art to as many
children, students, and adults in the Dallas area
as possible.
Dallas can be proud of its new Museum of Art and the
historic civic support which gave it birth. Our tradition as
a community, though, is to use the achivement of one
goal as a springboard to another. Recognizing a cultural
need and building a superb facility in uncertain eco-
nomic times is a credit to the people of Dallas, but we
should not measure the accomplishment as an end in
itself. Rather, we will undertake a new set of ambitious,
but realistic goals: to offset increased operation funds, to
heighten our acquisitions program, to create endowment
funds, to organize major exhibitions and scholarly pub-
lications, and to expand DMA education and outreach
programs. These are the challenges that we, and you, face
together in the exciting years ahead as the new Museum
opens, and we strive to become a cultural organization
equal to any in the nation.
Harry S. Parker III
DirectorDirector Parker overlooking the Flca ti ret ccturtard of the
new Museum.
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Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas Museum of Art Bulletin, Fall 1983, periodical, Autumn 1983; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth224951/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dallas Museum of Art.