Stung by a drop in income from all sources — donations as well as sales — the Cincinnati Art Museum has laid off seven staff members, or about 4 percent of its staff. That will allow it to continue through the foreseeable future with its hours and exhibition schedule preserved, Director Aaron Betsky says. "People are thinking twice about spending money in all areas," he says. All departments are being affected, Betsky says, although no department curators have been laid off. —-
The museum just closed its ticketed China Design Now exhibition, which Betsky says finished strong attendance-wise but overall was "a little bit short" of attendance projections. Both the Contemporary Arts Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center had layoffs late last year; the CAC and Taft Museum of Art have also each postponed one 2009 exhibition.
