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DAI hopes to improve community engagement, address budget deficit

DAI directors consider changes to ‘steady the ship’

New Dayton Art Institute leaders Michael Roediger, executive director, and Jane Black, associate director, are considering reversing many of the changes made by the previous director.

Chris Stewart/Staff photo New Dayton Art Institute leaders Michael Roediger, executive director, and Jane Black, associate director, are considering reversing many of the changes made by the previous director.

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By Dave Larsen, Staff Writer Updated 7:18 PM Saturday, January 7, 2012

The Dayton Art Institute’s new leaders are considering sweeping changes to meet their goal of making DAI a gathering spot for the entire community and to address financial issues that include a $300,000 operating budget deficit for 2011, museum officials said.

The possible changes could include increased staffing, extended operating hours and adjusting the suggested $8 admission fee, said Michael R. Roediger, executive director. They would represent an immediate reversal of several policies implemented last year by former DAI Director and Chief Executive Jan Driesbach, who retired in July.

“We have to steady the ship,” Roediger said. “I think it is a planning process; it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Roediger acknowledged that many organizations cut costs when faced with a deficit, but he said DAI needs to restore some of its structure to move forward.

“I don’t think we have the team in place to do some of the innovative programming and revenue-driven ideas that we need,” he said.

DAI has assets that include a historic 1930 building and an art collection valued at around $500 million.

Roediger assumed the role of DAI’s executive director in October after 13 years at the Victoria Theatre Association, most recently as vice president of development. He was joined in December by Jane Black, who will serve as DAI’s associate director after eight years as executive director of the Dayton Visual Arts Center.

Roediger and Black are both Dayton natives.

The new directors face “long-term structural challenges” that include an aging building and the lack of a proper endowment, said Rob Connelly, board chairman.

“This won’t get fixed in a couple of months or a couple of years, but we are on the right path and we are chipping away,” said Connelly, president of the Henny Penny Corp., a global food service company based in Eaton.

The directors are looking at ways to make the museum more open and welcoming to the entire community, not just a segment that supports the visual arts. Part of that will be building on the success of public events such as Art Ball and Oktoberfest, which last year had a combined net income of $357,000, exceeding projections by $47,000.

“The more interest and engagement you have in the community, the more money follows,” Connelly said.

Membership is the key to the museum’s foundation, providing a core base of financial support similar to a subscription model in theater, Roediger said. “We know that membership has to grow and it is on the upswing,” he said.

DAI membership last year increased nearly 4 percent to 6,633 members, including 1,732 new or rejoining members and 4,901 renewing members, according to unofficial year-end figures.

The proposed changes to staffing, hours and admission are intended to improve the customer experience and help make DAI a top local entertainment destination, officials said.

In addition, the museum’s cafe was recently renovated at a cost of less than $1,000 and a donated state-of-the-art HD theater system will soon be installed in its 500-seat auditorium.

Roediger said the museum staff “was cut really lean” under Driesbach. Officials are looking to add a development position, a full-time facilities director and possibly a shared assistant for development and marketing, he said.

“We are looking at increasing some people’s hours that are already here so that we can accomplish more,” Roediger said.

Hiring a new curator is a top priority and a committee is being formed to review applicants from a nationwide search.

The curator will help to determine DAI’s next set of exhibitions beyond those scheduled for 2012. Officials will consider presenting “blockbuster” shows “as long as we can justify that the expense and the revenue will meet, and the revenue will exceed the expense,” Roediger said.

Officials are looking at the suggested admission fee and trying to secure sponsor funding to help offset the museum’s per-patron cost.

The voluntary donations from nonmember visitors implemented last February were budgeted to raise $150,000 annually, but only produced $60,000 for 2011, Roediger said.

The directors are reconsidering the decision to close Tuesdays, in addition to Mondays. The measure, also implemented last February, was projected to save DAI more than $50,000 annually.

Tuesdays are popular field trip days for school groups and closing that day limits the museum’s educational mission, Black said.

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