A Beauty Matters Update: November 2021
M&G is Celebrating 70 Years and Planning for the Next 70!
Since we were last able to meet with you—whether measured in weeks or months or in “global pandemic time”—our time has been productive and well spent.
Let’s answer what could be your most pressing questions about M&G:
(Click the arrow after each line for further details)
$26 Million from the State: You may recall that the SC Legislature allocated and sent $9 million to Greenville in the second half of 2019—just a few months before COVID entered the scene in the US in a big way. Politically, nothing much happened in 2020.
However, 2021 is a different story. Just before the 4th of July, SC legislators passed the state’s 2021-2022 budget which include an additional $19 million for the South Carolina Art & Cultural Center bringing the state’s investment to $26 million. We’ve been told that both M&G and the Greenville County Museum of Art will receive some portion of this last $19 million to be applied toward our individual buildouts. Thanks to the state, there are $26 million reasons already in town to move the project forward!
The City Study/Due Diligence: In early 2021, the city hired consulting architects and planners to review the event center project. In late August the report was submitted to City Council. The report was positive with the only open decision point for the developers and the city being the size of the event center’s grand ballroom. The original plan may not be large enough according to the study.
Following the presentation of the project to the public and the study to City Council in August, this Opinion piece in support of the project and the inclusion of the art museums appeared in the Greenville News.
What’s Next: As soon as the city and the developers finalize the size of the project, the event center—and with it, the space for M&G—should move into the engineering and design phase. Once that event happens, we’ll be able to develop our “pull out all the stops” Beauty Matters Campaign timeline in response to the developer’s construction timeline.
Our Ongoing Beauty Matters Campaign Work: Even with the impact of COVID on public gatherings and our waiting on the City’s due diligence, we’ve hosted 23 group cultivation events from September 2020 until now.
These events have consisted of:
- Un-Museum Tours, a behind-the-scenes look at the deconstruction of M&G in preparation for the move downtown
- War Memorial Chapel Tours of the national treasure that is the Benjamin West Collection
- Morning Coffee Conversations at M&G
- Three BJU Alumni outreach brainstorming sessions
These events would not have been possible without the help of several campaign cabinet members and M&G superfans. (Thank you!!) We’ve also met one-on-one for the first time or followed up with many individuals and families. We’ve made good progress all things considered. However, we still need your help!
Your Upcoming Opportunities: Please consider joining us and inviting your friends and best prospects to any of the following upcoming events:
- Thursday, December 2: Noon ArtBreak Lunch & Lecture with Dr. David Steel, long-time friend of Dr. Bob Jones Jr. and retired curator from the North Carolina Museum of Art. He was one of the first museum curators to organize an exhibition of 44 paintings exclusively from M&G’s Old Master Collection in the 1980s.
- Tuesday, December 7 at 3:30PM: Un-Museum Tour & Tea at M&G
- Thursday, December 9 at 10AM: Un-Museum Tour & Tea at M&G
Let us know if you’re coming and who your guests are. RSVP to David Baker.
M&G Has a New Web Address! At first glance, things may not look that different, but the bjumg.org address is gone. For now, the web address is museumandgallery.org. The old address will still lead you to the current site, but we’ll be promoting and referring to the new web address going forward.
Why, “for now”? We anticipate a complete rebrand when M&G moves downtown. While the Collection will always be known as the Bob Jones Collection, as it is known worldwide and in honor of our founder, the museum itself could have an entirely different name. If you gave $2.5 million this year and each of the next 3 years, it could even be named after you!
Don’t forget the Beauty Matters Campaign has its own web page too.
M&G’s 70th Anniversary Celebration!
- ArtBreak this season is one big, prolonged celebration of M&G’s 70th Anniversary! Please join us for the remaining 4 noon-time lunch and lectures in December, February, March, and April. This is an exciting season packed with special guest speakers! Invite your friends and other campaign prospects. Special thanks to Al & Holly Hodges for sponsoring the season of ArtBreak! Be sure to register for the December lunch and lecture.
- A New M&G Collection Catalogue! No, the paintings aren’t for sale. It’s not that kind of catalog. In the museum world, a collection catalogue is a published work that, you guessed it, catalogs the collection. This 70th Anniversary Edition of M&G’s Collection Catalogue will highlight 55 significant works out of the more than 400 paintings contained in the Collection. Watch for your invitation to a 70-Year Celebration in March where the new catalogue will debut.
If you’re known by the company you keep, M&G continues to be blessed in the art world. This summer, 3 international museums were approached to participate in a digital loan via video to a small museum in Sarzana, Italy—the Louvre, Ringling and M&G! Click on the image to view our video “loan.”
Your Christmas Shopping Secret Weapon! There are no supply chain issues here—but there are limited quantities of these commemorative 70th Anniversary boxed notecards, coffee mugs, and Christmas ornaments of a beloved painting from the Collection—The Holy Family in the Carpenter Shop. Order yours today here.
In September, M&G’s biggest loan exhibition of Old Masters opened at the Orlando Museum of Art, where 64 paintings will be on loan through early May 2022. We have two weekends planned where guests can enjoy a tour of the exhibition with our Executive Director, Erin Jones, and learn more about M&G’s plans for the new museum downtown.
Save these dates and watch for more details soon!
- January 21st & 22nd
- March 18th & 19th
How you can help:
- Invite your Florida friends–and any other friends who’d welcome a winter weekend in Florida–to join you with us in January or March.
- Sponsor the reception/food and beverage for one of the events.
Email if you’re interested in attending and/or sponsoring.
