The Revolving Museum, long a supporter of local and
emerging artists, has fallen on tough economic times. Its
founder and artistic director, Jerry Beck, is throwing a dance
party and silent auction Saturday night to help buoy the
institution.
While much of the city enjoys the current economic boom,
Beck has found it difficult to raise money for exhibitions. He
recently learned that none of the local or federal grants for
which he applied came through, forcing him to cancel two major
projects, including a college all-star show highlighting area
undergraduate talent.
``It's the first time in 15 years that we haven't gotten
the support that we've counted on,'' said Beck. ``But you
can't count totally on grants. You have to have the whole
community together so you can grow.''
And so Beck is knocking on his community's door, trying to
lure as many people as possible to check out the art up for
auction, much of it donated by local artists, and dance to
Afro-Brazilian jazz music amid the sculptures and paintings of
the museum's current exhibition, ``Revelation for
Revolution.''
The auction begins at 9 p.m. and dancing runs from 11 p.m.
to 3 a.m. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased in advance by
calling (617) 439-8617.
``The ticket price is low enough that we would hope artists
would come, and the public and some of the younger people
might dip into their movie money and come by,'' Beck said.
The museum needs to raise $30,000 during the next two
months to get through the fiscal year, and Beck expects the
party will bring in about one third of that. He plans to
augment the income by soliciting membership fees and corporate
donations.
``When you've been working in the trenches for 15 years,
it's not like you have a huge list of patrons,'' Beck said.
``We're hoping we can broaden our audience and get people
invested in the talent of the city.''
Indeed, the worst-case scenario is not one Beck, himself an
artist, likes to think about.
``We don't want to have to all leave to another city
because there's no funding here (in Boston),'' said Beck.
``That would be really sad for artists that have put their
blood and guts into things here.''
