The Museum Leader: Holly Shen
“[This crisis] begs the question of how to establish robust invested funds, collectively built and managed by communities as opposed to wealthy individuals, to sustain arts and culture funding.”
5 Questions with Holly Shen
Deputy Director of the San José Museum of Art
San Jose, CA
Holly Shen is Deputy Director of the San José Museum of Art, where she leads programmatic and development strategy for public programs, community outreach, and digital engagement. An accomplished and passionate arts leader, Holly is inspired by the intersection of art and technology and its potential to increase equitable access to arts and cultural resources.
The San José Museum of Art reflects the diverse cultures and innovative spirit of Silicon Valley. Through its exhibitions, programs, scholarship, and collections, SJMA connects the present and the past, the art of the West Coast and the world. The Museum fosters awareness of artists’ broad contributions to society and engages audiences with the art of our time and the vitality of the creative process.
1. How are you navigating all this and preparing for what’s next?
As crises usually do, the COVID-19 closure is bringing out the best and worst of everything – people and situations. Right now, my mantra for addressing this challenge is: don’t be too emotional and do the right thing. Which, of course, is ridiculously hard to do because every day is a rollercoaster of information and emotion. Mentally, I’m preparing to be in a constant state of unknowns for the next 18 months. Museums are used to planning out so far ahead that the notion of remaining calm in a prolonged state of not knowing is daunting.
As hard as this has been, it’s also been an incredible opportunity for team-building and new initiatives. We’re rolling out a virtual kids art summer camp, launching our initial foray into distance learning, which has been a longtime goal of our education department. Our cross-departmental digital content team is learning in real time how to build thoughtful and engaging programs online through trial and error. It feels experimental and there’s something exciting about that.
On the preparation side, we formed a Reopening Task Force to think through the considerations, protocol and processes necessary to reopen—everything from visitor services to staff safety to operational issues like our café and store. Input from museums across the nation has been instrumental in this regard. I was on a Webinar hosted by Cuseum the first week of closure and there were thousands of museum professionals on the call; it was uplifting. We’ve been sharing budget notes, trading work from home tips, and cross promoting one another’s content.
2. What is immediate need of the organization?
Echoing other arts leaders and friends like Patton Hindle who have called this out recently, we need what every arts organization needs right now: a major PR campaign to generate a broad coalition of support for our sector at the local state and national level. We need lobbyists and community activists to advocate for public investment of the work we do—now, and especially in a time of global crisis like this one. The CARES legislation is only a first baby step in what needs to be a series of initiatives at the government level to make arts and culture funding sustainable.
3. How are you re-imaging your work?
The recent events have really highlighted how museums are providing a public service, particularly during challenging times. Museums are stewards of important collections, but “They are also hubs for learning, information-sharing, and collective reflection as we work together to surmount this crisis,” as cultural strategist András Szántó put it quite simply in his recent Artnet essay. He argues for museums as one of the first businesses that should be allowed to reopen first because our work is essential: “People need art in times of crisis.” This whole situation has reminded me why I was drawn to the arts in the first place. Our work has always had the ability to change lives and perspectives, but it’s evident now more than ever.
4. What has changed with your fundraising strategy, and have you started to re-imagine what it needs to be?
You know, it’s fascinating. What some might call a challenge or weakness has become our biggest asset in a time of crisis. We are a small to medium size regional museum that has historically relied on a small pool of longtime donors; cultivating new prospects in Silicon Valley has and is an arduous process, one that we’re always discussing as part of our broader fundraising strategy. But during this time of need, that loyal community stepped up to support us, which was truly inspiring. It reassured me that arts funding is not dead here. In turn, we’re giving back to our local community by providing robust, continual and free creative engagement content and exploring how we can support the smaller grass roots arts organizations in the region, many of whom are long-time partners. This Wednesday, 4/29, we’re hosting a virtual prom (open to the public) with New Ballet San José, featuring a special cocktail making tutorial by our café operator and local restauranteur.
Our overall fundraising strategy hasn’t changed so much as its broadened because of this crisis—we’re moving donor events online with great success; we’re reaching individuals interested in our program from out of state that we would otherwise not have a chance to engage. And we’re making slow but steady progress on building a regional coalition that can lobby for more local and state funds. I think the biggest difference right now is that we’re having to contend with multiple contingencies. To address this, we’re looking at several financial forecast models so that we are prepared for multiple outcomes.
5. Loaded last question… How do you think this crisis might alter the landscape of cultural patronage, as well as society’s view of the arts?
While I hope to be wrong, I fear that many small arts organizations will fold, be forced to consolidate or need to make serious cuts to programs and services. It may also push forward innovative fundraising like crowdfunding, strategic partnerships between organizations of varying size, and alternative revenue streams, like pay-walls for quality digital content. I hope it will help society understand the value of the creative arts. Where would we be right now with movies, music, feeds of images and photographs, and literature made available online?
It’s also forcing a reconsideration of the notion that arts orgs can or should be able to sustain operations and growth through earned revenue—clearly those with strong endowments are in a better financial position. So there’s a tension between the traditional philanthropy model—a small number of uber-wealthy subsidizing arts and culture—and some of the newer ideas that spread responsibility among more individuals, corporations and city and state governments, in addition to earned revenue. The latter generally allows for more autonomy and diversity, but less long-term security. It begs the question of how to establish robust invested funds, collectively built and managed by communities as opposed to wealthy individuals, to sustain arts and culture funding.
Holly Shen is Deputy Director of the San José Museum of Art, where she leads programmatic and development strategy for public programs, community outreach, and digital engagement. An accomplished and passionate arts leader, Holly is inspired by the intersection of art and technology and its potential to increase equitable access to arts and cultural resources.