Undeserved Image

Your article regarding the drop in ranking for the Newport Harbor Art Museum by the California Arts Council created an undeserved, negative image (“O.C. Arts Groups Praised, Criticized,” July 27). Yes, it is difficult to carry on without a director and curator.

However, we are fortunate to have a capable staff (that) keeps the museum moving forward. Our exhibition schedule is set through the summer of 1991 and our education programs are operating at full capacity.

We were criticized for “appearing to reach only white, Newport Beach people.” I am one of 100 volunteer docents who provide daily tours to people of all backgrounds and income levels, especially school children who visit with their classes.

For many who do not speak English, it is their first exposure to a contemporary art museum, and as art is a universal language, it opens an exciting new world for them. The school tours are augmented by an outreach program.

One week before a tour, each class is visited at the school by a docent who gives a slide presentation about the art the students will see at the museum. Docents visit many schools in Fullerton, Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Irvine and other cities, as well as Newport Beach.

This outreach and tour program has proven to be very successful in whetting children’s appetites for the arts, and it greatly enhances the limited arts education most students in Orange County receive.

Furthermore, the transportation subsidies the museum provides guarantee a visit to the museum for some schools unable to visit otherwise.

In the last two years, the Docents provided group tours for more than 18,000 children and adults. Docents also toured 7,800 individuals at special events; 4,385 students throughout Orange County had an Outreach Program in their classrooms. We serve more people who live outside Newport Beach than in it.

We make a concerted effort to tour all ethnic groups by offering foreign language tours or tours with interpreters. We offer art appreciation programs for three-year-olds through seniors, for culturally deprived and those with special needs.

We are a major cultural resource, not just locally, but regionally.

WINNIE ROSS

Docent Council member

Newport Harbor Art Museum