Director’s Note: Progress Ahead
Reflecting on the past year, I am reminded of our many donors who are essential to the vitality of the George Eastman Museum. So many of you are members, contributed to our Annual Fund, or supported special projects during 2023. All of these gifts are critical to sustaining and advancing the museum’s activities, and we are most grateful.
November 2024 will mark the 75th anniversary of the public opening of the museum. In addition to presenting special exhibitions that celebrate our collections, we are determined to continue making progress with capital projects in three crucial areas: restoring George Eastman’s mansion and gardens, preserving our world-class collections, and inclusively improving the experience of our diverse visitors, including students and families.
The Rock Garden, created for George Eastman, has been closed for several months because the deterioration of its grape arbor creates safety risks. In November 2023, the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation awarded a $500,000 grant for the restoration and accessibility of this garden. Just weeks earlier, the DavenportHatch Foundation generously contributed $75,000 to support this project. We have secured a total of $925,000 for the project, and fundraising efforts continue.
The first phase of upgrading the Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center, the storage facility for our important collection of nitrate films, was completed in spring 2023. This phase involved installing new chillers, piping, and controls. As a result, we have maintained appropriate conditions (40°F and 30 percent relative humidity) without interruption, even during hot days and brownouts. These are the best sustained conditions for our nitrate film holdings since we opened the Henry A. Strong Archives — the first US museum storage facility for nitrate film — in 1952.
We plan to implement the second phase — expanding the facility to add three nitrate film storage vaults, replacing the roof, and improving the building’s insulation and moisture seal — this spring. We have raised $1,727,000 for the overall project from the Packard Humanities Institute, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Louis B. Mayer Foundation, and trustee Digby Clements. Additional fundraising will be required for phase two.
We are finalizing construction documents for our project to create a new set of galleries in spaces without historic interiors on the first and second floors of the mansion. The new galleries will be dedicated to a permanent exhibition — with multimedia and interactive elements — that offers a contemporary interpretation of George Eastman. The exhibition will include aspects of his life, within the context of his time, that are widely relevant to members of our diverse community. These galleries and the exhibition will transform the experience of visiting his home.
If we raise the necessary funds, we will commence construction in early October 2024 and plan to complete construction in May 2025, with the goal of opening the exhibition by November 2025. To date, we have raised $1,960,000 for the project from the New York State Council on the Arts, Empire State Development, Lisk Morris Foundation, Institute for Museum and Library Services, Thomas Tischer, Rochester Area Community Foundation, Pace Family Fund of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, and trustee Robert Woodhouse.
We are deeply grateful to the government agencies, private foundations, and individuals who are supporting these three critical capital projects. For more information on how your own contribution can benefit these transformational projects, please contact Lisa Seischab, vice president of development, at (585) 327–4942 or lseischab@eastman.org.
Bruce Barnes, PhD
Ron and Donna Fielding Director
January/February 2024 Bulletin
