Comments on: Changes to IMA’s Security Program

By: MidwestLove

MidwestLove — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 03:30:50 +0000

There are a few things I would like to address to those nay-sayers about the new security at the IMA. First of all, the supervisors of the Visitor Assistant program have gone above and beyond to hire the best, most-responsible, and enthusiastic of students. Most of them are GRADUATE students with much respect and dedication to the arts, museum studies, or criminal justice. Please don’t assume these jobs are just given away. The students are being given a great opportunity to succeed in their respective felids. It may seem the changes have come at the expense of other, more experienced security officers, but really it is a response to the needs of the IMA. In these uncertain times, with the economy the way it is, and donors and endowments dropping like flies, it is in the best interest of the IMA and the COMMUNITY to accept change and keep the doors of the IMA open!!

From my own personal experience, don’t knock it till you try it. I have visited the IMA on several occasions since the “changes” and I have found that the students are more knowledgable about the artwork, collections, museum history, and are much more willing to engage with the public; which significantly enhances my experience there. In a lot of cases, I have discovered that even the docents give wrong information. At least the students have the decency to read the plaque on the wall, rather than making something up.

As far as safety is concerned, all of the students have been throughly trained in all evacuation procedures and measures. And if you look closely, they all carry walkie-talkies(just as the old officers did) to have the ability to contact one another quickly, know what’s going on at all times all over the campus. The more eyes and ears, the better. And it is proven that criminals are deterred not only by police officers, but those in uniform. If they know and feel that they are being watched, they are much less likely to pull off some “deterring stunt” to steal or damage the art.

I hope that this will give some of you a fresh perspective on the happenings at the IMA. I only ask that you keep an open mind and if you want more reassurance, go talk to them yourself. They are just as friendly, if not more approachable than the old system of officers. Change is the future people, it happens all the time everywhere. Be proud that the IMA has the guts to be one of the first museums in the country to attempt such a undertaking. Once again, our city is in the forefront and we will prevail. No guts- NO GLORY!!

By: Jeri

Jeri — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 09:39:40 +0000

Shame on the IMA for dismissing these wonderful people who have families, responsibilities, and bills to pay. Every staff member that I have met at the museum was friendly and professional. These mature folks added something positive to my visits. As a former teaching professional and coach, I find it hard to believe that your new “staff” will be as gracious and hard working as those that you have dismissed and I for one am glad to know that someone is investigating this shameful episode in the IMA’s decision making process.

By: Dale Kronkright

Dale Kronkright — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:22:27 +0000

The first question is – will other museums and private owners lend works to IMA for exhibitions if there are no professional, in-gallery security and emergency response museum security personnel? Perpetrators of museum theft and vandalism sometimes rely on creating distractions in galleries – feigned accidents, health emergencies, smoke bombs, electrical shorts and museum security personnel are trained to not only secure all art and exits in their assigned areas WHILE addressing the distraction, but also profile physical features of the people in their assigned galleries at the time incidents occur. Will student “ambassadors” respond in a professionally responsible way in such emergencies? Will museum visitors in the junior high-school demographic respect near-peer gallery authority in a climate where violating teacher authority is now a major endeavor for many 12-15 year old classroom students? These are the “bugger-flickers”, painting pokers, chewing gum-stickers and label-graffiti artists that every museum works to thwart, every day. Can college student “ambassadors” truly keep the art in the galleries safe? It is one thing to record damage to art in galleries using a digital video surveillance system. It is another thing, entirely, to prevent damage to art in galleries.

The second question is how the community will respond to a museum that staked its reputation on BUILDING the local economy that then eliminates some 56 jobs within their community?

The third question – is this the beginning of the erosion of Max Anderson’s grand re-definition of what museums can become in the digital 21st Century? Is the experiment to leverage sustained, major support for a museum through the development of a high-profile digital, web-audience and digital engagement proving to be more difficult than imagined? Is balancing a programmatically enriched and diverse budget more difficult than simply getting philanthropists excited about climbing aboard a new, high-speed train?

By: VetMedic

VetMedic — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:24:23 +0000

I do wonder how many accountants, Directors and so on, ad nauseum, who manage the various portfolios and endowments for IMA were summarily FIRED and replaced by work-study students from IUPUI? Should this heartless effort prove successful (let alone moral or legal), then I suggest that IMA outsource their nascent work-study program to some poor third world nation which might accept much less than the $10.00 per hour that taxpayers are currently handing over to sustain the business plan of the IMA. By the way, just where were the DIRECTORS when this initiative was suggested?
I’ll be visting any other gallery than the IMA.

By: Indianapolis Museum of Art Overhauls Security, Lays Off 53 Staff Members - UnBeige

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:56:10 +0000

[...] might influence other institutions across the country, this week the Indianapolis Museum of Art has undergone a major personnel change in their security department, firing more than thirty of its security guards and laying off 23 part-time gallery attendants in [...]