A Hopeful Picture at Major L.A. Museums : Art: While institutions nationwide are cutting hours and services due to the economic downturn, LACMA and MOCA seem in relatively good shape.

The future of art museums looked flush in the mid-’80s when an unprecedented boom in museum building swept the country. But as the recession has taken hold and the art market has plummeted, museums are struggling to maintain their operations--if they are not fighting for their very lives.

The Detroit Institute of Arts--among the hardest hit--has laid off staff, canceled exhibitions, cut its public operations from six to five days a week, instituted admission charges and closed half its galleries in the morning, the other half in the afternoon.

Faced with a $2-million cut in its annual operating budget of $16 million, the Brooklyn Museum will be closed for two weeks during the current fiscal year. In addition, the museum has trimmed staff, frozen or cut salaries, established a rotating gallery schedule and scrapped community outreach programs.

By these standards, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art are quite robust. Both institutions have maintained their operating hours, programs and staffs--but not without effort.

“We had to work a lot harder this year than ever before,” said Richard Koshalek, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art. “We ended fiscal 1991 with a balanced budget, but that was not easy to do.” Balancing MOCA’s books required reducing the museum’s projected budget from $7.6 million to $7.3 million, he said.

“I realized early in the fiscal year that it was going to be a difficult year, so I took steps to reduce operating expenses,” Koshalek said. Cuts were made by “being very cautious” about the museum’s contract services, such as security, and “watching all expenditures,” he said.

Every aspect of the museum’s operations and programs has undergone scrutiny and budget tightening--including administration and exhibitions--but no staff positions have been lost and no programs have been dropped, he said. MOCA’s projected budget for next year is $7.9 million, but Koshalek said that figure does not amount to an increase because it includes special programs that are fully funded.

The museum will save about $500,000 a year during the 18-month to 2-year period when the Temporary Contemporary facility must be closed for a construction project in Little Tokyo. But the closure, beginning next spring or summer, will restrict the museum’s program and likely decrease attendence.

While MOCA has experienced its toughest year ever, LACMA Director Earl A. Powell reports that the recession has had “no substantial effect” on his institution. “We feel very fortunate that the public and our members have continued to support the museum and in fact have increased their support,” he said.

The County Museum of Art’s annual operating budget rose from $26 million in fiscal 1990 to $28 million in fiscal 1991. About half the funds are provided by the county, the other half from private sources. The budget for fiscal 1992 will be adopted later this month.

As at MOCA, the recession has caused no significant change in exhibition programs. The County Museum of Art will continue to originate about half of its exhibitions and import the rest, Powell said.

Both museums have experienced changes in attendance and membership, but the shifts are not parallel. LACMA’s attendance grew from 988,000 in fiscal 1990 to just over 1 million in fiscal 1991, while MOCA’s attendance dropped from 400,000 to 350,000.

At LACMA, where membership fees range from $55 to $5,000, total membership rose from about 87,000 in fiscal 1990 to nearly 90,000 in fiscal 1991. Although the museum lost members in higher-price categories, it made sufficient gains in lower-level members to increase membership revenue to about $8 million, a 9% increase over fiscal 1990.

In contrast, MOCA’s membership dropped from around 18,000 to 15,000. But losses in lower categories (starting at $45) were offset by gains in pricier memberships (ranging up to $500). The museum collected about $900,000 in membership revenue during each of the past two fiscal years.

“What has changed for everyone is that it is more difficult to get major corporate support for exhibitions,” Powell said.

MOCA officials agreed. “Prospective corporate donors ask a lot more questions now and assess proposals more rigorously. They are looking carefully at the public-service profiles and outreach components of exhibitions,” said Sherri Geldin, associate director of MOCA.

To combat financial problems, MOCA is trying new techniques, such as telemarketing for members, seeking in-kind contributions and collaborating on programs with other institutions.

All these methods of stretching dollars are helpful, but the primary ticket to survival is working harder, Koshalek said. “We have energized our entire staff and board for fund-raising,” he said.

A few years ago, Koshalek restricted his personal appeals for gifts to prospective donors of $10,000 or more, but during the past year he and MOCA board members have personally solicited donations of as little as $2,500.

“The courtships are a lot more intensive. What could have been accomplished in a letter and a personal phone call in the past now takes two or three letters and several calls,” Geldin said.

And the end is not in sight. “My feeling is that we have hit the bottom but we will have a lethargic recovery,” Koshalek said.

“Even then, giving patterns may not recover,” Geldin said. “There’s a lot more pressure on the philanthropic dollar. Even if we have 100% recovery, I’m not sure we will have the same kind of giving.”

The recession has produced one positive effect for fund-raisers, however. “We get much faster no’s, so we can move on more quickly,” Geldin said.