7 staffing in many areas of our operation, in this plan we are focusing on two key positions: a deputy director and a coordinator of student and community connection The former would assist with the museum’s multitude of administrative, management, and reporting responsibilities, while the latter would take on the increasing work of student co- and extra-curricular engagement, currently borne in part both by the museum’s Office of Academic Programs and Education Department, and add a new focus on connections with alumni In addition, the museummust have an expanded, proprietary, security staff—both to accommodate our weekend hours and enable expansion of our morning and evening hours to accommodate more Oberlin classes, as a way to respond both to changes in class schedules and sizes, and our community more broadly MakingConnections Expanding the Allen in both space and staff is key not only to our daily work, but also to how the museum connects to the community Making the museum’s work both meaningful to, andmore visible for, our audiences are but two of the goals we at the Allen hope to achieve in the coming years Connecting with you—whether you are an Oberlin community member, a student, a faculty or staffmember, an alumnus of Oberlin College, a resident of Northeast Ohio, or a visitor from anywhere in the world to the museum or to our website—is integral to the Allen’s mission Founded in 1917 and now in its second century, the museum—always free and open to the public—has been an important educational resource for hundreds of thousands of visitors, of all ages and backgrounds As you will see in this plan, we aspire to continue the museum’s high-quality academic and public outreach and emphasis on career preparation for Oberlin College students, in combination with changes to howwe use our gallery spaces to present the museum’s global collection, greater interaction and communication with our multiple audiences, and preparations for a much-neededmuseum expansion Critical to our efforts is engagement with, and feedback from, you—whether through personal interactions between you and the museum’s staff and collection, or through improved communication regarding the museum’s offerings—all in the service of creatingmeaningful experiences with the Allen’s extraordinary art Conclusion This emphasis on connecting art and people finds its place above the Allen’s entrance, in the museum’s very stones, where “the cause of Art is the cause of the people”, a line fromWilliamMorris’s 1884 speech “Art and Socialism”, is inscribed Importantly, what bookends that phrase in his speech is an emphasis on hope: “There is our hope: the cause of Art is the cause of the people Think of a piece of history, and so hope!” At this point in the speech, Morris was discussing the inevitable changes that come to all lives, to all civilizations, within his overall theme of the dignity of labor and the necessity for improved working conditions—as well as for art to be seen as a necessary component of a fulfilled human life, something that should be shared by all In our work, we at the Allen look forward to continuing to carry forth the inspiring legacy of the museum’s prescient founders with an emphasis on such ideals as Morris’s: linking art and activism, and connecting art and people Andria Derstine, John G W Cowles Director
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