San Francisco’s Modern Jewish Museum announced Wednesday that it will close for “at least a year” starting next month, saying it faces severe budget shortfalls and declining revenue.
According to the announcement, the museum’s board of directors suspended operations on Dec. 15 and laid off 19 of the museum’s 30 employees as a “proactive step to ensure the long-term sustainability of CJM.” It has been decided that he will be fired.
The museum’s announcement dealt a blow to efforts to revitalize downtown San Francisco, leaving the large complex adjacent to Yerba Buena Gardens dark and inactive for more than a year.
“We must downsize to allow us the time and resources necessary to re-envision and rebuild,” Kelly King, the museum’s executive director, said in a statement. “It is far better to take the necessary steps to reorganize now than to wait until you run out of options.”
King added that the decision is “deeply painful as it impacts our team of exceptionally dedicated individuals.”
Current exhibitions will be available to the public for free viewing for the next few weeks until the museum closes on December 15th. These include Leah Rosenberg: When One Sees a Rainbow, Looted, and Nicki Green: Firmament.
“In Judaism, the Sabbath, or Shabbat, is a time of rest and a key moment carved out of the week for restoration and renewal,” Dr. King said in a statement, along with board president Tom Kasten. “Throughout Jewish culture, there are countless references to pausing as a means of rejuvenation. CJM’s sabbaticals allow for the creation and experimentation of innovative ideas and the development of new ways to reach a wider audience. It allows for exploration.”
Wise Sons Deli, which operated a small store in CMJ for the past 10 years, closed its doors in July due to declining customer traffic.
The Modern Jewish Museum is a non-collecting museum whose mission is to convey “Jewish culture, history, art, and thought that is relevant to 21st century audiences.” Started as a small organization in the late 1980s based at the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation on Stewart Street, in 2008 it expanded to an acclaimed Daniel Libeskind-designed museum on Yerba Buena Lane at Jesse Street, housed in a repurposed former PG&E substation. things). .
As The Chronicle reports, the museum has seen a 50% drop in attendance since reopening in 2021 during the pandemic. As a result, revenue also fell by about 50%. In addition to museum ticket sales and donations, CMJ relies on event rental income, and the building remains available for event rentals while the museum is closed.
King told the Chronicle that “everything is on the table,” including the possibility of selling the building. And the short-term objective is to cut the annual operating budget in half, from $7.1 million to $3.2 million.
News of CMJ’s closure comes after hearing about the plight of other arts organizations around the Bay Area, particularly theaters. Last month, it was announced that Cal Shakes, a popular East Bay summer spot, would be closing its doors after 50 years. And several local theaters have been complaining for years of sluggish revenue and a declining subscriber base as the number of reliable older patrons dwindles and the age of theater-goers gets older.
And in July, Cutting Ball Theatre, an experimental black box theater in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, announced it was closing after 25 years.
Photo courtesy of Modern Jewish Museum
