'Multiple and compound failures': Mulva Cultural Center sues exhibits provider for $1.4M
DE PERE - The Mulva Cultural Center scheduled an inaugural run of exhibits intended to wow greater Green Bay and northeastern Wisconsin residents the moment the $100 million arts and cultural center opened in December.
Instead, the nonprofit arts and culture center claims the exhibit company it hired to provide programming failed to live up to its promises, according to a July 15 lawsuit filed in Brown County Circuit Court. The complaint alleges St. Paul-based Exhibits Development Group breached its contract with the Mulva Cultural Center and should repay the $1.4 million MCC paid for the exhibits, plus costs and fees.
The center contracted with EDG to provide four "world-class" exhibits for 2023 and 2024 that focused on the Beatles, Grammy-winning Wisconsin musicians, dinosaurs and Legos "to establish MCC as a cultural destination in the region, state and nation," the lawsuit states.
Instead, the Mulva center claims EDG did not provide the centerpiece of one exhibit, switched the focus of another without telling the staff, and postponed a third exhibit citing terrorist attacks in the Red Sea. The Mulva Cultural Center terminated its contract with EDG on April 9, citing "multiple and compounded failures," but said it has never been refunded any of its payments for the exhibits in question.
Attorneys for the Mulva center and its parent company, De Pere Cultural Foundation Inc., declined to comment for this story, citing the ongoing lawsuit. Messages left with Exhibits Development Group seeking an interview were not returned.
Mulva expected John Lennon's Rolls-Royce limo would be a centerpiece of Beatles exhibit, but it didn't arrive
The Mulva center opened with “Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Beatles!” an exhibit about the Fab Four that ran from Sept. 28-Jan. 7. It claims EDG pledged to include John Lennon's 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V limousine, painted with psychedelic patterns, via a special loan request. But the limo did not show up with the rest of the exhibit.
The Mulva center also claims in its lawsuit EDG was to create a companion exhibit that focused on Wisconsin artists and the Grammy Awards. But when the exhibit arrived, the center said the exhibit's focus had been changed without notice to Latin Grammy artists.
The complaint indicates the Mulva paid EDG $616,000 for the two exhibits.
Dinosaur-focused exhibit canceled, but Mulva Cultural Center booked a different dino-themed exhibit
"Evolution Dinosaur" was scheduled for Feb. 14-April 28 at the Mulva center and was to include "hyper-realistic animatronic dinosaurs and interactive tools for learning."
But in December, EDG told the Mulva staff it postponed the exhibit due to "terrorist attacks in the Red Sea and the impact of those attacks on shipping the exhibit," the complaint states. Mulva center staff received no further explanation of what happened or why it could not ship the exhibit.
A WisBusiness story from February indicates the MCC was able to secure "Dino Safari: A Walk Thru Adventure" to fill the gap in its exhibit schedule. The exhibit was open from Feb. 22-May 12.
The center says it paid EDG $375,000 for "Evolution Dinosaur."
Lego exhibit at Mulva Cultural Center now
After the dinosaurs exhibit fell through, the the Mulva center complaint indicates it was uncertain about (EDG's) ability to deliver the fourth exhibit, the Lego-themed "Bricktionary," which was scheduled for May 23 to Sept. 2.
The Mulva center in its civil complaint says it paid EDG $397,500 for the Lego exhibit and never received assurances EDG would deliver.
The exhibit did arrive and opened June 6 and remains open at the Mulva Cultural Center. It features more than 150 Lego models made by Ryan "Brickman" McNaught, a Lego Certified Professional.
Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Mulva Cultural Center sues exhibits provider for $1.4 million
