On September 23, 1999 Past President Stephanie Goldman wrote a note to the newly hired director of the SDMA, Don Bacigalupi, who began his term in August:
     "On behalf of the Artists Guild, we welcome you to your new home and the San Diego Museum of Art….
     The Artists Guild is dedicated to volunteering on all levels of this project in assisting the Museum staff in this exciting year 2000 project (The 2000 All California Exhibition), as we will also be celebrating our 85th year as a committee of the museum.
     We look forward to having you meet the Artists Guild Board, and sharing your ideas for the future."

     Linda Drake wrote this letter to Don Bacigalupi on October 7, 1999:
     "A change in leadership in the Artist Guild ensued during the preliminaries of the upcoming All California 2000 Juried Exhibition, the contract with the Museum was signed with the understanding, on my part, that it was the same format as the previous All California contract… there are some differences. All of these have been settled except for the subject of the honorarium for the juror for the exhibition. As I understand from the Artists Guild Board, who along with Steve Brezzo formed the previous contracts, it was to set a precedent for future contracts, thus enabling the Guild to better plan its activities and budget.
     Enclosed please find a copy of the aforementioned contract. The All California Exhibition is the biennial event which provides the Guild with its only real source of revenue….
     We are now beginning the juror selection process for the 2002 All California Exhibition, and would very much like to have your approval of Wayne Thiebaud, who had been approved and contacted and was interested in jurying the 2000 exhibition, but was unable to because of prior commitments….
     Your time, I know, is tightly scheduled. We would appreciate your thoughts concerning the honorarium….
     Once again, thank you for your attention to this matter. We wish you much energy and success, and again extend our invitation to meet the Artists Guild Board of Directors at our October 19th meeting between 1 and 3 in the Board room."

     Linda also sent Don this note:
     "Thank you so much for meeting with me last week… we should have a date solidified for our 'Evening with Don' in the auditorium, which I am very excited about.
     Everyone is anxious to meet you and looking forward to Tuesday meeting. I appreciate you fitting this into your schedule, and know it will be a great meeting."

     After a meeting by Don with just the Board leadership (Linda Drake, Stephanie Goldman, and Donna Baird), a synopsis was written. Handwritten notes added to the official document are in parenthesis and italics:

SYNOPSIS OF MEETING WITH DON BACIGALUPI
NOVEMBER 2, 1999
     "Wayne Thiebaud as juror for the 2002 All California Exhibition was approved. When asked about the possibility of obtaining dates, gallery space for 2002, the following dialog ensued:
     The foremost concern of the Museum at the present time is accreditation, which has not taken place for 13 years. At that time, the accreditation committee highlighted as areas of concern, the committees of the Museum. The committees, because the SDMA is a non-profit corporation, are to be self-sufficient, supportive of the Museum, and not causing the Museum to allocate monies for their function. (I assume he is referring to the museum's underwriting a portion of the cost of our exhibitions.) Don feels that these areas will be scrutinized because of the former flagging as potential trouble spots for reaccredidation, thus resulting in the possible non-reaccredidation of the Museum. (#1A)
     It was pointed out that he would like to uphold the mission statement of the Museum, which does not include specifically the local artist exhibitions presented by the Artists Guild (It also does not exclude our exhibitions.) (#1)
     He pointed out that he is very aware of the history of the Artist Guild and that he is committed to preserving that; but also at the same time, space allocations for our exhibitions do not look promising. There is major renovation beginning in 2000, plus concurrent upgrading of the present HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system, which will most likely run into 2001. This will cause galleries to be closed at varying times, thus eliminating much-needed exhibition space. The upcoming schedule is packed, leaving little available space for the AG exhibitions. (#2)
     Don also stated he was embarrassed for us at the placement of the membership exhibition, feeling that it was a disservice to the Guild; he was informed that it might have been more advantageous for us not to have done it. He would like to see us better served in our exhibition venues, and is trying to work this through. He has promised to see that the 2000 exhibition is very well done. (-and that's all ffffolks!)

(#1A - This is the first excuse
#1 - So this gives him an excuse to terminate our exhibitions?
#2 Another excuse!)

     One avenue of thought is to partner with another organization that is committed to exhibiting and promoting local artists. This would mean: a. the exhibition would not be in-house; b. the museum would not be footing the total expenditures; c. the guild would be better served. The Art Institute was brought up as a possibility of space allocation for the All California exhibitions, with joint efforts from the Museum and the Institute. There has been discussion of this between Don and Tim Fields (Director of the Institute). Don likes the idea of the Museum being a leader with other San Diego art organizations, like the Institute. (A)
     All museums go through an evolution and SDMA is at the point of making a big change. A major focus for SMDA will be to increase its collections, an area that has been almost neglected during the last 20 years. The contemporary collection has the least, numbering a little over 200 pieces. Also between 3 and 4% of the permanent collections are on view at any one time. This is an area of concern and is being addressed as an area of change. (B)
     In the Houston area, where Don came to us from, he gave an example of a guild that was originally a part of the Fine Arts Museum. As that grew, the guild went on to the contemporary museum, as their mission statements were along the same lines. When the contemporary grew too large, the guild went to another venue, where there was a concern of dissolution; but because of its continued growth over the years and substantial financial backing from persons and businesses in the community, it flourished. It eventually ended up at the Blaffer Gallery at the University of Houston where Don was Director and Curator, and whose mission statement embraced all the same things that the guild was about. Those exhibitions were held every four years in the museum. He was not suggesting this is what our Artists Guild does, but stating as an example of one guild and its growth. (C)
     Another example was a traveling exhibition of a juried show, where galleries or art associations across the country would rent the exhibition, thus creating revenue for the organization supplying (?) the juried show. (Not a bad idea - but a MAJOR undertaking)

(A - a. The Museum has NOT been footing the total expenditures
b. Out of sight - out of mind!
c. Convince one!
Seems as though he's trying to foist us off on the Institute - Do you know they will only insure paintings up to $2000.00!!
B - New directors, presidents, CEO's etc. all have to create their 'own stink' - not that these aren't valid goals.
C - We have not been able to solicit financial backing because it would 'conflict' with the museum's fundraising. Anyway - our guild was not 'originally a part of the Museum' - the guild started the Museum.)

     Donna asked, 'How can we better serve the museum in a more productive way?' Don responded that that is a very good question and we need to think about it. (He got out of that one, didn't he?)
     Stephanie asked, 'Would the Artists Guild be able to purchase from a Guild member a work of art approved by the Museum for the permanent collection with our funds? In conjunction with the Educational Department?' (Yeah! Hummmmm)
     This was just the beginning of a dialog that will continue over the next few months, as the accreditation begins in January. Don said he was interested in the Artists Guild history and in continuing the relationship between the Artists Guild and the Museum. (This is a synthesis of some of his previous remarks!) He is interested in interfacing with other art organizations in the community, and feel all can work together as an effective unit.
     (He obviously has no idea of the efforts of the larger art organizations here to maintain their separate identities. There has always seemed to be a lot of fragmentation in the art scene here - witness the efforts of COVA to unite the groups in various endeavors. Not as successful as might be.)

     The SDMA Board of Trustees went on a "Trustee Retreat" on Saturday, November 13, 1999. Linda Drake attended. The group held afternoon session break-out groups, where they discusses these two subjects:
1. List five to eight strategies we need to implement over the next year to improve board performance and help trustees become a more cohesive group.
2. What type of strengths and experience should we be looking for in new Board members? How can we improve the recruitment and nominating process?
     The future of the Artists Guild was not one of the subjects considered.

     On November 19, 1999, Linda Drake announced a special meeting for the Guild Board members:
     "I would like to have a special meeting on December 14 at my house to discuss the meeting we had with Don. We just do not have time it seems to cover all that in our regular meeting, and it is probably better done off site. If you would each read the synopsis again carefully, take notes and send me your thoughts, ideas and feelings by Dec 7, I can look everything over and better organize our discussion….
     I know this is the supremely busy time of year, but I think it is important to have this meeting sooner than later.
     Your attention to this is greatly appreciated, and everyone's input is valuable." (Note: The author attended that meeting and the consensus was that the SDMA had just delivered the fatal blow to the Guild's very existence, the future looked very bleak and we would just try to get through this as best as possible.)

     The following was in the December 1999 newsletter:
     Caron Smith selected the four new artists for "Artist Guild Presents". They were Donna Baird, Jeff Crusberg, Stephanie Goldman, and Dottie Stanley.
     Winter Gala arranged by Joan Arenshorst
     "An evening of western fun and friendship is planned for Saturday, January 15, 6:00 p.m. at the San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park. You and your guest are invited to join us to meet old friends and make some new ones, to toast the Guild in the new millennium and to feast on some of the best barbeque west of the Rockies. Dress is cowboy/cowgirl casual of just plain casual."

     The four artists exhibited for Artists Guild Presents 1999 were featured in the SDMA Calendar.

back to top