Closing of University of New Hampshire's Museum of Art 'leaves giant hole for community'

Jeanne McCartin
Updated ·4 min read

DURHAM — The closing of the University of New Hampshire's Museum of Art is being felt well beyond the institution.

The museum was shuttered during the latest UNH budget cuts that mandated a $14 million reduction for the 2024 fiscal year. The university cites multiple financial strains in explaining the cuts, including reduced enrollment, which to date has translated into 75 jobs eliminated, consolidation of some offices and a loss of programs and activities.

The museum is just one of the casualties. Closed for scheduled upgrades during the determination period, it simply won't reopen.

The Museum of Art in the Bratton Recital Hall in the Paul Creative Arts building at the University of New Hampshire has closed, as seen Monday, Jan. 22, 2024.
The Museum of Art in the Bratton Recital Hall in the Paul Creative Arts building at the University of New Hampshire has closed, as seen Monday, Jan. 22, 2024.

Loss of Museum of Art felt beyond UNH campus

"This leaves a giant empty hole for the community. If there is no museum of fine art, it devalues all the arts — they're all part and complementary to one another," said alumna Lennie Mullaney, of Portsmouth, who graduated with an MFA from UNH in 2012. "Losing this flagship museum says something about what we value as human beings. I'm devastated that it's closing."

As a student, the museum offered Mullaney numerous resources, and her senior exhibit led to her first professional show after school.

As a professional artist Mullaney continued to attend exhibits and gallery talks given by students and visiting artists.

"I'm extremely dismayed that such a valuable resource for all of New Hampshire is being shuttered," Mullaney said. "The arts contribute so much to our culture and economy in New Hampshire."

Portsmouth museum closes, too: Museum of New Art shuts down due to "weakening revenue"

'Awfully difficult process' led to UNH museum closure

The Museum of Art in the Bratton Recital Hall in the Paul Creative Arts building at the University of New Hampshire is empty Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 after its closure.
The Museum of Art in the Bratton Recital Hall in the Paul Creative Arts building at the University of New Hampshire is empty Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 after its closure.

The task of trimming 3.6% (a permanent cut of approx. $1.5 million) off the UNH College of Liberal Arts' budget fell to Dean Michele Dillon Ph.D. Her department oversees the core academics of the social sciences.

Her department lost 12 staff, in addition to the museum.

The decisions were difficult ones, Dillon said.

"It was an awfully difficult process, very challenging," Dillon said. "As dean, I was very supportive of the museum, so it was very tough and agonizing for me."

"But again I had to read my budget numbers." she said, "I made the difficult choice to prioritize my academic programs ... over the museum. This is not a reflection on the museum. It's the prioritizing we all had to do over the last few months."

The college will continue to exhibit works in other spaces on campus, use the collection to enhance teaching, continue inviting outside artists for talks, develop collaborations with outside organizations to further opportunity, and support art-related, regional excursions, she said.

There are no plans to sell any of the collection's work and its care and protection will continue. Furthermore, there are no plans to repurpose the space, Dillon said.

The museum enriched the broader community, both at and beyond the university, said Christopher Gowell, a 1970s UNH alumna, today owner and Executive Director of Sanctuary Arts, Eliot, Maine.

She, too, continued to use museum resources after leaving the university.

"It brought in esoteric artists, some which larger museums didn't exhibit," Gowell said. "It had scheduled talks related to shows, and ... other really worthwhile talks."

The Museum of Art in the Bratton Recital Hall in the Paul Creative Arts building at the University of New Hampshire has closed.
The Museum of Art in the Bratton Recital Hall in the Paul Creative Arts building at the University of New Hampshire has closed.

It offered students important study opportunities, training for those interested in museum curation, and the important final year exhibits.

Her own senior show proved an important step in her development as an artist, she said. "It was a way for students to consolidate their work."

It was equally important to non-art students, "who also need to be exposed to art, even if they're not taking art classes," Gowell added. "You could just wander into the museum and educate yourselves. Everyone needs art in their lives. ... This is a great loss."

Dillon hopes to make plans for art-related use of the space, after the dust settles on these latest changes. There could be continued talks, chamber music events, even exhibits. 

It is unlikely the university will reopen the museum in the future, Dillion said. If other means of support were found, it is possible it could be reinstated, she added.

"To reopen at a future date, it would likely need to be restructured and funded by donors/external grants on a scale that would make it largely if not wholly self-sustaining," Dillon said. "But ... that would probably take a while."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: University of New Hampshire Museum of Art closes