2015
Fruitlands Museum Annual Report
PEOPLE of FRUITLANDS STAFF Wyona Lynch McWhite, Executive Director Janet Bailey, Marketing Strategist Mary Delaney, Marketing Manager Harriet Friedrich, Museum Store Manager Nancy Galluzzo, Finance Manager Richard Gioiosa, Marketing Assistant Martin Gredinger, Chief Financial Officer Melissa Kershaw, Director of Education & Public Programs Holly Mansfield, Development Coordinator Michael Rouleau, Manager of Buildings & Grounds Suzanne Smith, Director of Development Michael Volmar, Chief Curator INTERPRETERS Inez Andrews Helen Batchelder Ruth Bobzin Douglas Caron Faye Charpentier Samyak Chowdhury Maribeth Cote Lisa Dagdigian Judith Diamondstone Laura Edwards Danielle Fennema Sally Gardner Amy Gust Julia Harrington Madeleine Hettich Timothy Houlihan Mary Hunt Gary Jackson
Patricia Jennings Nancy Keeler Melanie Levine Martha Morris Naomi Newell Karen Omahen Samuel Palmer Angela Passarelli Carlene Phillips Gwendolyn Podenza Julia Sheehan Lauren Sheehan Sheila Simollardes Elsa Stroh Virginia Watts Victoria Whitten
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Marie LeBlanc, President Ken Cochrane, Vice President Ellen Hazen, Treasurer Kerry Lewis, Secretary Eileen deCastro Todd K. Helwig John Laupheimer John Ott Heidi Siegrist Peter von Loesecke MEMBERS OF THE CORPORATION Bob Anderson LaGina Austin Jennifer Combs Marge Darby Richard B. Fellows Linda Hoffman Katherine Jasmine Jonathan Keep Ray Lyons Victor Normand John O’Keefe C. Ronald Ostberg Steve Payne Jeffrey Schwarz Ellen Schön Karen Strickland Terry Symula Ara Tyler
2015 at Fruitlands 2015 was a year of endings and beginnings for Fruitlands. We wrapped up our successful centennial year with our 101st birthday party featuring a cake in the shape of our newly adopted logo, and a day of games, crafts and tours. The popular centennial exhibit, 100 Objects, 100 Stories, 100 Years at Fruitlands Museum, ran throughout the winter and we received word that the centennial collections book, by the same name, won first place in the book category of the New England Museum Association Publication Awards. It was a fitting ending to a year of celebration. Spring brought new exhibits in the Art Museum and a refreshed brand as we jumped into our 101st year. Two photography exhibits, Edward Burtynsky: The Industrial Sublime, and Afghanistan/ Endgame, explored the unintended consequences of industrial growth on the earth and of modern war on society. The biennial Art in Nature sculpture competition saw the Fruitlands landscape filled with imaginative sculptures including massive chimes, which delighted visitors. The Artist-inResidence fellowship was filled by eight pastel artists who called themselves 80 Dusty Fingers. Their exhibit in the Art Museum’s Main Gallery was immensely popular as was Irina Okula’s saggar fired pottery in the North Gallery. The National Basketry Organization’s show All Things Considered VIII was installed in the fall along with Hidden Hudson: an exhibit of rarely seen Hudson River School Landscapes from Fruitlands collections, which was expanded during the winter season. As usual, our dedicated programming and interpretive staff did a fantastic job engaging visitors and making the exhibits come to life. Once the centennial year officially ended, on June 21, 2015 we introduced the new brand, centered around the centennial logo, minus the “100 Years” tag. All new print collateral was designed and a new website was introduced. The various departments provided the written content and once again the collaboration of our small but mighty staff made this large under-taking a booming success. The staff also collaborated on a number of successful events. The driving rain didn’t stop us from enjoying dinner with 140 of our fans at the Summer Solstice Dinner; we welcomed over 1200 guests on Free Fun Friday; over 1500 at the Craft Festival and 120 beer tasters at the Craft Beer Tasting and Bonfire. Not to mention 130 programs, classes and workshops put on by the tireless Education Department. It was a banner year at Fruitlands Museum and a great way to bid adieu to our centennial year. Now on to 2016!
EDUCATION & PUBLIC PROGRAMS SCHOOL AND GROUP TOURS In 2015, nearly 2000 children and adults learned about the art, heritage, and environment of New England by exploring the collections and grounds in guided tours, customized presentations, hands-on learning, and self-directed activities that engage the mind and encourage life-long learning. Continued in 2015, Fruitlands Museum worked with Harvard Public Schools to prototype a series of five two-hour teacher workshops featuring interdisciplinary themes, guided gallery tours with open-ended conversations, creative thinking activities, and group discussions highlighting the many ways museum objects can be incorporated into classroom learning. With a total of nearly 70 participants thus far, these workshops have great potential for connecting area teachers to the amazing resources at Fruitlands Museum. FAMILY PROGRAMS New in 2015, Fruitlands Museum developed an ambitious calendar of programs that catered to a growing family audience. Occurring once each month, these events are rooted in the museum collections, are designed to inspire creativity, include opportunities for parents and children to learn together, and introduce adults and children to innovative and entertaining crafts, games, and exhibits. In addition to drawing increased attendance, these programs also frequently result in bolstering household memberships and cultivating relationships between Fruitlands and local families. ART CLASSES 2015 saw an expanded docket of art classes and workshops with 160 people participating in instructed classes focusing on basket-making, oil and acrylic painting, pastel painting, and digital photography. CENTENNIAL EVENTS In the spring and early summer of 2015, 620 adults and children visited Fruitlands Museum during one of three free campus-wide centennial year celebrations. Featuring live animal presentations, craft activities, museum gallery visits, artist demonstrations, live music, and the biggest birthday cake Fruitlands has ever seen,
these entertaining community events were among the best birthday parties any museum could hope for! In addition to the raucous free days, Fruitlands also marked its centennial year with a series of scholarly presentations focusing on museum founder Clara Endicott Sears, the Native American legends and history, and America’s first art movement—the Hudson River School. Fruitlands also launched a noteworthy community reading program, Fruitlands Reads, featuring five books focusing on the themes local environment, environmental stewardship and a sense of place. Nearly 250 people attended these insightful presentations. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Building on our efforts for more environmental programming, Fruitlands continued to work with regional experts including the Herbal Community of Central Massachusetts, J.U.M.P. (Just Understand My Potential), Eastern Mountain Sports, and Harvard Conservation Trust to provide a variety of outdoor experiences in the Fruitlands Living Collection. The Museum’s efforts are paying off—people in Central Massachusetts are beginning to recognize the remarkable natural beauty found at Fruitlands and are turning out for guided trail walks, birding walks, nature scavenger hunts, cross-country skiing clinics, and gardening demonstrations in record numbers. SIGNATURE FRUITLANDS PROGRAMS Landmark Fruitlands programs, including plein air art classes, the Summer Concert Series, Harvest Weekend, and WinterFest returned to the hillside in 2015, while new and growing traditions such as Basket Weekend, Seasonal Bonfire, Food for Thought Film Series and Artist-in-Residence workshops garnered high visitation and exceptional reviews from participants. In all, Fruitlands hosted 130 public programs in 2015, many for the first time, and served just over 10,000 adults, families and children in new and unique ways.
EXHIBITIONS EDWARD BURTYNSKY: THE INDUSTRIAL SUBLIME This exhibit of large format photographs by one of Canada’s most well-known photographers explored the topographical landscape as it has been irrevocably altered by industries that feed the world’s appetite for material goods. Rather than simply decry the human scarring of the land, Edward acknowledges the conflict between the human need for economic growth and the value of protecting our fragile ecosystem. AFGHANISTAN / ENDGAME Ben Brody is an American documentary photographer who has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003, both as a soldier and as a civilian. The photographs in this exhibit highlighted the unintended consequences of modern war and reflected the changing American character and political identity. ART IN NATURE The museum hosted our biannual juried outdoor sculpture competition, Art in Nature in 2015. The exhibition program features sculptors from across the New England region. Twenty-one works by fourteen artists were chosen for the competition with winners chosen in both the juried and popular vote categories.
ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE THE PASTEL ART OF 80 DUSTY FINGERS For the very first time the 2015 Artists-in-Residence was a group. The whimsically self-titled 80 Dusty Fingers consisted of eight accomplished pastel artists. A formal exhibit of their work was exhibited in the Art Museum during the summer and included some of the amazing pastels produced at the Museum during their residency. GIFTS OF THE SAGGAR FIRE Award-winning potter Irina Okula brought us Gifts of the Saggar Fire in May. Irina uses natural combustible materials in the firing process which is done in separate containers called saggars and fired in a gas kiln. The patterns left by the process invoke the fiery chaos of nature, contrasted with the calm and serene patterns reminiscent of cloudy skies and geologic formations.
Saggar fired pots by Irina Okula
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED VIII All Things Considered VIII was a juried and invitational exhibition organized by the National Basketry Organization. This biannual show featured some of the best work being produced in traditional and sculptural basketry today. From traditional ash splint baskets to whimsical forms made of woven copper and mixed materials, this exhibition was visitor favorite. HIDDEN HUDSON Fall also brought a large exhibition of Fruitlands Hudson River School landscapes to the Art Museum. This was an opportunity for our guests to become reacquainted with works that had not been seen in many years. Paintings on display included works by George Inness, Thomas Hill, Sanford Gifford, Frederick Church and many more. They were supplemented by even more paintings from the collection for the Winter Season.
MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS LOOKING FORWARD As the centennial year drew to a close in June of 2015, the Museum staff and board agreed that the logo designed for the centennial year should become permanent. The logo, which consists of four buildings, representing Fruitlands’ four main collections, can be used in a vertical or horizontal configuration, making it highly adaptive. The contemporary colors and simple shapes reinforce the message that Fruitlands is a modern museum with historic collections. The Marketing Department set to work redesigning all collateral, campus signs and digital properties to reflect our new brand image. The biggest task was by far, the new website. Designed in-house and coded by an outside web design firm, the site had to be responsive
OPERATING EXPENSES
for use on all devices, integrate with the Museum’s patron database as well as the collections database and be user friendly. Based on the analytics and the response from our members and outside organizations who are looking to redesign their own websites, it has been successful.
36% Management & General 13% Programs & Education 14% Facilities & Maintenance 3% Museum Store 12% Membership & Development 8% Marketing 14% Curatorial/Exhibition Total Operating Expenses: $1,514,314 Fiscal year is January-December
SUPPORT & REVENUE
23% Appropriated from Sears Trust 15% Rentals & Functions 3% Museum Store Sales 3% Admissions Income 54% Gifts, Grants & Membership 1% Programs & Special Events 1% Other Total Support & Revenue: $ Fiscal year is January-December
EVENTS & PROJECTS YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE AT FRUITLANDS MUSEUM! 2015 was a tremendous success thanks to your participation in our fundraising and membership programs.We began the year with an initiative to “plant the seeds” at Fruitlands and donors received a packet of wildflowers in the spring with their donation to help us get ready for the season. Proceeds helped pay for all the work we do to prepare the buildings and grounds for visitors. Membership grew by 21% in 2015 and Membership revenue increased by 27%. Members took advantage of some extra perks including reserved parking and discounted admission at the Craft Festival, an exclusive Strawberries & Champagne reception at the first concert in June, and discounted admission for many programs and events. Many of you took advantage of a new membership program— the Benefactors Circle. This giving society honors and celebrates donors who give $1,000 or more each year. Benefactors Circle members enjoy all the benefits of membership plus exclusive events and perks. You helped end the year with a bang by supporting our first ever giving challenge! On December 1st we participated in Giving Tuesday—a national day of philanthropy. One of our generous supporters issued a challenge to reach 80 donors by the end of the year. That challenge resulted in a gift of $10,000 and another donor issuing a challenge that matched gifts up to $5,000. We exceeded that goal and raised over $42,000! Your gifts have gone a long way toward supporting all that Fruitlands Museum does, including offering outstanding programs and exhibitions. We are thrilled and honored by the showing of support for Fruitlands Museum this year!
PROJECTS Fruitlands Museum received funding to support several projects in 2015. The Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Recreational Trails Program awarded a grant in the amount of $14,730 to widen and improve portions of the Fruitlands Museum’s trail system. These improvements will allow motorized Gator access so individuals with mobility impairments will be able to enjoy the Museum’s trail system. The project also funded new interpretive signage related to archaeological sites along the trails that will be installed in early 2016. A grant from the Sun Hill Foundation contributed matching funds for the trail improvements as well as new environmental education materials and improvements to our field trip program areas. The grant also provided support for improvements to our water filtration system and a newly installed, larger water line from the museum office building to the Café. The water filtration system was installed in early 2016 and meets DEP compliance for a public water supply. Sun Hill Foundation also awarded funding toward our Facilities Planning initiative that was made possible through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural Facilities Fund in 2014. This project has resulted in a comprehensive plan for the Museum that will be used to guide decisions in the next decade. The Bruce J. Anderson Foundation awarded Fruitlands a grant to make improvements to our Native American exhibitions and programs. This grant funded repairs to the Long House roof, new interpretive programs for the Native American exhibits, lectures by Native American historians and new hands-on materials for visiting students. The grant also provided new signage for the Longhouse and Dugout Canoe that will be installed in early 2016.
EVENTS & PROJECTS EVENTS Open Gates Initiative—provided free admission and activities to
over 2,100 visitors on April 19th, June 20th, and July 24 in 2015. This initiative was made possible through generous support from the following organizations: Bruce J. Anderson Foundation Highland Street Foundation Foundation for Metrowest Massachusetts Cultural Council -Cultural Investment Portfolio The following Local Cultural Councils contributed to the Centennial Day celebration on June 20th: Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council Ashby Cultural Council Ayer Cultural Council Billerica Arts Cultural Council
Bolton Cultural Council Brimfield Cultural Council Concord Cultural Council Groton Cultural Council Harvard Cultural Council Hudson Cultural Council Littleton Cultural Council Shirley Cultural Council Shrewsbury Cultural Council Stow Cultural Council Westford Cultural Council Wilmington Cultural Council
Summer Solstice Farm-to-Fork Dinner—The 3rd Annual
Summer Solstice Dinner was a great success despite the rain! 150 guests dined on locally sourced food by Fireside Catering and listened to live music by The Jazz Depot. Proceeds from this signature fundraiser supported our education programs and exhibitions in 2015.
Solstice Dinner Supporting Sponsors: Bank of America/US Trust Bell Lap Coaching Bikeway Fireside Catering Transitions Liquidations Services
Solstice Dinner Associate Sponsors: Emerson Hospital Enterprise Bank Mirick O’Connell New England Corvette
Senior Day—Thanks to our sponsors, Tufts Healthcare and
Rivercourt Residences, we celebrated our senior visitors with a special day of free admission for everyone over 55. Over 120 visitors enjoyed guided tours of the Museum, guided trail walks, a lecture on Shaker music by Roger Lee Hall and a guided bird walk. The 5th Annual Craft Festival at Fruitlands—In partnership
with Worcester Center for Crafts, Fruitlands held the 5th Annual Craft Festival the weekend of September 26-27. Forty-six of New England’s best professional artisans brought hand-crafted pottery, jewelry, glassware, fiber art, wood items, toys, and more. Over 1300 guests shopped and visited the Museum over the course of two picture-perfect autumn days. Fruitlands Hosts First Cyclocross Race—More than 400
athletes participated in the Fruitlands Cup of Cyclocross race on October 24, 2015. The course was designed by Fruitlands Trustee, John Laupheimer and Gary David of Bell Lap Coaching and took full advantage of the hilly terrain. The race attracted visitors from all over the region and raised money for the Museum in the process. Beer Tasting & Bonfire—We capped the 2015 Main Season
with our 3rd Annual Craft Beer Tasting and Annual Bonfire on Saturday, November 7. Guests at the Beer Tasting tried samples from eight local and regional breweries paired with delicious hors d’oeuvres from Fireside Catering. Following the Tasting, we had our biggest bonfire yet, made festive with drumming by Los Drummers de Lookie Lookie and toasted s’mores.
DONORS & MEMBERS We are pleased to recognize our donors whose cash gifts were received between January 1 and December 31, 2015. Names are listed by cumulative gifts during this time period. We value gifts of all sizes and extend our thanks to everyone who supports Fruitlands Museum. $10,000 and above Eileen & Ed DeCastro John & Deborah Laupheimer Merlin Foundation Pamela Smith* Sun Hill Foundation $5,000-$9,999 Ellen Hazen & Matthew Carpenter Marie LeBlanc & Greg Schnipke Transitions Liquidations Services $2,500-$4,999 Reed & Barbara Anthony Bank of America Ken & Pam Cochrane Frank & Emilie Coolidge Midnight Ride of Cyclocross Steve & Diane Payne Peter & Alice von Loesecke $1,000-$2,499 Nancy & Reinier Beeuwkes Carolyn Birmingham Kent & Aisling dur Russell Ellen & Paul Harasimowicz Emerson Hospital Enterprise Bank and Trust Company Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Simon Jones & Richard Gioiosa Mirick, O’Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, LLP New England Corvette, LLC RiverCourt Residences Heidi & Donald Siegrist Ann Sonnenfeld The Stevenson Family
Sara Timmons Tufts Health Plan $500-$999 Susan Roberts Emery Paul & Marty Green Scottie Held Todd & Lara Helwig $250-$499 Clinton Rotary Club Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts Marjorie Darby Richard & Anne Fellows George and Lyn Herbolsheimer Douglass & Dee Lee John & Lili Ott Glenn & Faith Parker Russell & Linda Shappy The Boston Foundation Ted & Connie Lapres $100-$249 Anonymous Ricardo Austrich Wendy Baker Patricia Basteri James and Jacqueline Bennett Joanne Carpenter Molly & Chris Cutler Lisa Dagdigian Charles & Patricia Davis Maria Day Cynthia Dumser David Dunn N. Joel Ehrenkranz
Mary Ells Lynne Francis-Lunn & Peter Lunn Rhonda Gallant Jacqueline Grossman Warren Henderson Nel & Phyllis LeBlanc Kerry Lewis Wyona Lynch-McWhite & Christopher McWhite Saverio Maldari James & Mary Maxwell Suzanne R. Newton Victor & Jackie Normand Andrew O’Connor John O’Keefe & Lynne Stopen Osterman Propane Jonathan & Jessie Panek David & Laura Peterson Fred & Karen Ratcliffe Jeffrey & Kim Schwarz Cheryl Serpe James Ware & Sharon McCarthy GIFTS IN MEMORIAM Paulett Taggart in Memory of Ganson P. Taggart GIFTS-IN-KIND Carlson Orchards Fireside Catering Home Depot Store 2676 Catherine Hunter Image Software Services Cecilia Macheski Pauline Stark Universal Wilde
FOUNDATIONS and GRANTING AGENCIES Acton Boxborough Cultural Council Ashburnham Cultural Council Ayer Cultural Council Billerica Arts Cultural Council Bolton Cultural Council The Boston Foundation Brimfield Cultural Council Concord Cultural Council Groton Cultural Council Harvard Cultural Council Highland Street Foundation Hudson Cultural Council Littleton Cultural Council Massachusetts Cultural Council Massachusetts Cultural Council Cultural Facilities Fund Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Merlin Foundation Northbridge Cultural Council Reynolds R. and Pamela M. Smith Foundation Shirley Cultural Council Shrewsbury Cultural Council Stow Cultural Council Sun Hill Foundation Westford Cultural Council Wilmington Cultural Council BENEFACTORS CIRCLE
The Benefactors Circle is a leadership giving program that honors donors who give $1,000 annually. Reed and Barbara Anthony Kent and Aisling dur Russell Thomas and Currie Barron Nancy and Reinier Beeuwkes Carolyn Birmingham Ken and Pam Cochrane Frank and Emilie Coolidge
Eileen and Ed DeCastro Ellen and Paul Harasimowicz Ellen Hazen and Matthew Carpenter Todd and Lara Helwig Simon Jones and Richard Gioiosa John and Deborah Laupheimer Marie LeBlanc and Greg Schnipke Heidi and Donald Siegrist Ann Sonnenfeld William and Herrika Stevenson Sara Timmons Peter and Alice von Loesecke Ellen Hazen and Matthew Carpenter Alex and Jennifer Combs PREMIUM LEVEL MEMBERS Sponsors Richard and Helen Brockelman Michael and Claire King Andrea MacRitchie Patrons Andrea Binnick Ken and Pam Cochrane Joseph and Lorelei Cooney Richard and Bayla Cornell John Cunney and Jared Wollaston Heidi Dempsey Jonathan and Mary Ells Peter and Sue George Jack and Susan Guswa Persis and David Levy Kerry Lewis Mary Loughlin Ray Lyons Victor and Jackie Normand Ronald and Susan Ostberg John and Lili Ott Brendan Stecchini and Paula Hodecker Chase and Suzanne Smith Ara Tyler Stan and Claudia Vestal
CORPORATE MEMBERS Bemis Associates, Inc. Christiane Hilbrig-Tauroney Dean’s Concessions Groton Ayer Realty Trust Nypro, Inc. RiverCourt Residences Trimdin LIBRARY MEMBERS Acton Memorial Library Athol Public Library Beaman Library (West Boylston) Belmont Public Library Bentley University Library Bigelow Free Public Library (Clinton) Bolton Public Library Boxborough Library Cary Memorial Library Chelmsford Public Library Concord Free Public Library Fitchburg Public Library Gleason Public Library (Carlisle) Groton Public Library Harvard Public Library Hopkinton Public Library J.V. Fletcher Library (Westford) Jacob Edwards Library (Southbridge) Keene Public Library Lawrence Library Lincoln Library Lunenburg Public Library Marlborough Public Library Maynard Public Library Reuben Hoar Library (Littleton) Shrewsbury Public Library Stevens Memorial Library Thayer Memorial Library Warwick Free Public Library Wayland Public Library Westborough Public Library
102 Prospect Hill Road Harvard, MA 01451 www.fruitlands.org