6 this plan an emphasis on work that furthers racial and gender equity and diversity, promotes accessibly and inclusion, encourages care for the environment and our neighbors, andmakes prudent use of resources Two PressingNeeds In order to achieve our goals of being integral to the positive experience of Oberlin students and beneficial to our larger community, the Allen must expand—in both physical space and staff size Thanks to the efforts and stewardship, duringmore than a century, of staff members before us, the collection has grown to more than 15,000 objects, while the only new exhibition space added (crucially, in terms of our ability to present large-scale works of art) is the Ellen Johnson Gallery, which opened in 1977 Since the late 1980s, the Allen’s directors have advocated for an expansion to the east, to incorporate the ClarenceWard ’37 Art Building into the museum’s footprint, enabling the expanded museum to have a single perimeter both for security and HVAC needs More space—for galleries, storage, classes, programs, and offices—would allow the museum to serve our community in the ways that the staff has long desired With dedicated space for changing exhibitions, important—and fragile—collection works could remain on view for longer periods, without the necessity to turn over galleries for temporary exhibitions The creation of specific galleries for more aspects of the collection— African, Islamic, Indigenous American, Asian, and other areas—would be prioritized, with the proper casework to accommodate the light-sensitive works on paper, objects, and textiles that are part of these collections Galleries would be planned with more room for the public—including larger classes or tour groups—and more seating The substantial funds being spent for offsite storage would be greatly reduced, and curators would feel free once more to suggest the acquisition of large-scale works With more rooms for teaching with artwork, the museum could accommodate a greater number of simultaneous classes, and with dedicated program space we could invite in more schoolchildren and community groups, while providing appropriate spaces for lunches, snacks, crafts, receptions, lectures, and special events We envision these new spaces to be accessible, as well, potentially freeing the museum’s second floor—currently not ADA-accessible—to be used in ways that are not geared to the general public Concurrent with the need for these public-facing spaces is a need for more office space for an expanded staff In terms of the museum’s service to the College and community, as well as its collection size, it has been “punching above its weight” for many years, but this efficiency has come with costs—including staff burnout Compared to museums at other liberal arts colleges, the Allen’s staff is small, which limits the museum’s ability to fully serve the College and local communities—and to expand our regional, national, and international reach— as we would wish While we would be glad for expanded Above, left to right: TheWeltzheimer/Johnson House designed by Frank LloydWright is operated by the Allen Photo by Andrew Pielage Gallery Guide Ruby Kim (OC 2024) presents a talk to museum visitors about the installation Bakunin’s Barricade by artist Ahmet Öğüt The Gallery Guide programgives students the opportunity to gain work experience in a professional museum atmosphere Photo by Jonathan Clark (OC 2025) Curator Kevin Greenwood discusses the exhibition Riding the Strong Currents: 20th and 21st Century Chinese Paintings from the AMAM Collection with patrons Photo by Stacie Ross
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