Charles Venable at the Breakfast of Champions
When Dr. Charles Venable spoke at our Breakfast of Champions event in May, the Speed Museum CEO was touting a bold and ambitious plan to eliminate asphalt, create a park-like setting and totally change the look of the property. It looked pretty cool and it would not be financed with taxpayer money, and now already $43 million has been raised. It included a YouTube video that gave us all a look at something that looked nothing like what is there now.
As it should have for its $79 million price tag. I didn’t know it would require the entire that the entire facility would be closed for three years. THREE YEARS. Starting next October. Today’s release from the Speed mentioned a full schedule of upcoming events, and plenty of quotes from Speed officials on how difficult a decision it was to close the doors for three years.
The whole program didn’t sit well with Dr. John Gilderbloom, a U of L professor who attended the May event and spoke out in objection regarding the Civil War statue near the site. Gilderbloom spoke out in opposition to the presence of the statue, a reminder of the Civil War. He believes the closure will have a huge detrimental effect in many ways, as he explained in this rant posted on Facebook.
The three to five year closing along with their refusal to change the dominance of the Confederate statue is why the Speed remains a boring, predictable, and offensive institution. It’s an institution that is of the past and not the present with no future vision. Its stale and mismanaged. I assume the renovation costing 40 million dollars plus will give us more of the same. Its amazing for an art institution the lack of imagination the board apparently has. They can’t figure out how to do one section of the museum at a time and leave the rest open? Does this mean with the closing that staff, administrators and the Director will be laid off as well? Nice Christmas gift to the staff! My bet is the administrators will get to stay and get paid to keep the building closed. Only in Louisville! What are the economic costs to staff and its impact on tourism and economic development efforts? Were these things considered? What are they going to do in the meantime: try to get Linda McCartney to have another photo show in five years? Why don’t they move some of the exhibits to the airport for incoming travelers like they do in Amsterdam or downtown along 4th street in those empty buildings? Why don’t they just renovate Whiskey Row for $20 million dollars and help improve the economic development of downtown? Please give Bill Whalen, Joseph and Joseph or Gill Holland a call! Attendance would double or triple at the new Speed on Main Street. Imagine this: 23,000 persons attending a concert or a basketball game or comparable number attending a convention, they could walk down to the new Speed Museum on Whiskey Row or on Fourth Street. UofL needs Speed Museum space without costly renovation. Everyone could win on moving it downtown just as our previous Mayor had urged. Calling Mayor Fisher right now! P.S. Yes, the master plan also refused to change the direction, locaiton and setting of the Confederate statue marching to the North.
They are still continuing their outreach programs and childrens education. I hope they would consider displaying part of their collections in another location in Louisville during the construction period, they will have to move them anyway and it would serve to keep them in the mind of the public and serve their mission as an art resource in the community.
As Speed board chair, I won’t attempt to address Dr. Gilderbloom’s rambling comments, except for two points: we studied moving downtown, and the costs were beyond prohibitive; and, the Civil War statue does not belong to the Museum, nor do we have any capability to address its location.
You need to get your story straight and be honest with people as you go about firing your staff. You could have done it without closing it down. Second, Charles Venable the CEO was very candid about the Confederate statue; he and other board members wanted it moved or turned around so it retreated to the South. Apparently you didn’t want to offend a slice of the community who like the old South ways of racism and slavery. Rambling? That’s all you can say. You should be ashamed of yourself and the entire board should rsign. This is a disgrace. The Speed three to five year closing is outrageous. The Speed remains a boring, predictable, and offensive institution. It’s an institution that is of the past and not the present with no future vision. It’s stale and mismanaged. Part of their master plan is to leave untouched the most unpopular and polarizing statue in the city: the dominating and aggressive Confederate statue in front of Speed that is marching North. I assume the renovation costing 50 million dollars plus will give us more of the same. It’s amazing the lack of imagination the board has in managing a creative artistic place. They can’t figure out how to do one section of the museum at a time and leave the rest open with a 50 million dollars? It can be done if you ask renovation specialists. Does the closing mean that staff, administrators and the Director will be laid off? Nice Christmas gift to the staff! My bet is the administrators will get to stay and get paid to keep the building closed–only in Louisville! What are they going to do in the meantime: try to get Linda McCartney to have another photo show in five years? What are the economic costs to staff and its impact on tourism and economic development efforts? Were these things considered? Why don’t they move some of the exhibits to the airport for incoming travelers like they do in Amsterdam or downtown along 4th Street in those empty store fronts like they have done in major cities. Why don’t they just renovate Whiskey Row for $25 million dollars and help improve the economic development of downtown? Please give Bill Whalen, Joseph & Joseph Architects or Gill Holland a call! While Speed wants to double or triple the amount of space, they don’t even have the quality of paintings to fill the current space! The number of significant paintings displayed could fill one large room. Why add more space when there is not much to fill it in? Attendance won’t double or triple in its current location but it would if it was moved downtown to compliment the other museums on Main Street. Seriously, :23,000 persons attending a basketball game or 50,000 attending a convention, would generate hundreds to thousands to the new Speed Museum on Whiskey Row or on Fourth Street. Demand for office space and housing would go up with the Speed relocating on Main. UofL which has plans to move its Art Department downtown could also become a partner in building the new Speed. If you read UofL master-plan they need the space at the Speed and there would be no need for a costly renovation. Speed could easily sell to UofL the much needed lecture halls classroom and office space at one-half the price it would cost to build new. Everyone could win on moving it downtown just as our previous Mayor had urged. Speed is a community treasure and the board should be more mindful of this. They need to be a better community partner and help steer away Louisville from reignite downtown. Build the new Speed downtown and keep the original open until it is completed. The Speed three to five year closing is outrageous. The Speed remains a boring, predictable, and offensive institution. It’s an institution that is of the past and not the present with no future vision. It’s stale and mismanaged. Part of their master plan is to leave untouched the most unpopular and polarizing statue in the city: the dominating and aggressive Confederate statue in front of Speed that is marching North. I assume the renovation costing 50 million dollars plus will give us more of the same. It’s amazing the lack of imagination the board has in managing a creative artistic place. They can’t figure out how to do one section of the museum at a time and leave the rest open with a 50 million dollars? It can be done if you ask renovation specialists. Does the closing mean that staff, administrators and the Director will be laid off? Nice Christmas gift to the staff! My bet is the administrators will get to stay and get paid to keep the building closed–only in Louisville! What are they going to do in the meantime: try to get Linda McCartney to have another photo show in five years? What are the economic costs to staff and its impact on tourism and economic development efforts? Were these things considered? Why don’t they move some of the exhibits to the airport for incoming travelers like they do in Amsterdam or downtown along 4th Street in those empty store fronts like they have done in major cities. Why don’t they just renovate Whiskey Row for $25 million dollars and help improve the economic development of downtown? Please give Bill Whalen, Joseph & Joseph Architects or Gill Holland a call! While Speed wants to double or triple the amount of space, they don’t even have the quality of paintings to fill the current space! The number of significant paintings displayed could fill one large room. Why add more space when there is not much to fill it in? Attendance won’t double or triple in its current location but it would if it was moved downtown to compliment the other museums on Main Street. Seriously, :23,000 persons attending a basketball game or 50,000 attending a convention, would generate hundreds to thousands to the new Speed Museum on Whiskey Row or on Fourth Street. Demand for office space and housing would go up with the Speed relocating on Main. UofL which has plans to move its Art Department downtown could also become a partner in building the new Speed. If you read UofL master-plan they need the space at the Speed and there would be no need for a costly renovation. Speed could easily sell to UofL the much needed lecture halls classroom and office space at one-half the price it would cost to build new. Everyone could win on moving it downtown just as our previous Mayor had urged. Speed is a community treasure and the board should be more mindful of this. They need to be a better community partner and help steer away Louisville from reignite downtown. Build the new Speed downtown and keep the original open until it is completed. Perhaps we need to send a message to the Speed: unacceptable.