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City Council Meeting
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
MUSEUM DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW
AND RECOGNITION
Museum of Riverside
RiversideCA.gov
2 WardBoard Member
1Sharon Tennell
2Luz Negrón
3Richard Cardullo
4Rich Gardner
5Peggy Barnhart
6Julie Bjork
7VACANT
CitywideVACANT
CitywideCynthia Zdilor, Chair
OUR BOARD
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1. The Board appoints ad hoc committees as needed2. Two independent 501(c)(3) nonprofits also support the Museum:a. Riverside Museum Associatesb. Harada House Foundation
BOARD COMMITTEES AND OTHER SUPPORT
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RoleStaff memberDirectorRobyn G. Peterson, Ph.D.Operations ManagerAnn LovellCuratorial Services ManagerJennifer DickersonInstitutional Advancement CoordinatorChantal DowningCurator of Natural HistoryIan WrightCurator of HistoryTaylor Bythewood-PorterCollections RegistrarKatie GrimMuseum EducatorTeresa Woodard BeldingAssociate EducatorKim CobbSenior Office SpecialistToni KinsmanMuseum Maintenance WorkerCesar MendezOffice Specialist - .5 FTERachael RugaIn recruitmentARCHIVISTVacant – to recruit FY 25-26EXHIBITION DESIGNER2024 EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR KIM COBB MUSEUM STAFF3
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As a center for learning, the Museum of Riverside interacts with the community to collect, preserve, explore, and interpret the cultural and natural history of Riverside and its region.Approved by the Museum Board on December 15, 2015 (revised to reflect name change approved by City Council April 23, 2019).MUSEUM’S MISSION RiversideCA.gov6
1. The Museum is among the 3% of museums nationwide that are accredited.2. The Museum Department’s strategic plan for 2022-2023 –2026-2027 will be refreshed next year.
STANDARDS AND GOALS5
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1. Region-wide partnerships are sustained, renewed, and forged. 2. All museum-specific policies and procedures now meet or exceed professional standards.
STANDARDS AND GOALS
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From small spotlight exhibitions Citywideto …
ACTIVE ALL YEAR7
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A year-long celebration of our 100thanniversary in 2024to …
ACTIVE ALL YEAR
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Happy crowds at festivals at Heritage House … … the Museum has been active in our community.
ACTIVE ALL YEAR9
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Museum’s goal is a smart rehabilitationof the original historic building … and …an exciting and thoughtful expansionfor the 21stcentury.
DOWNTOWN RENOVATION GOALS
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March 2025: Construction bid approvedBy summer 2025: Under constructionMid-2027: Grand reopening RENOVATION PROCESS, FROM TODAY11
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Exhibition highlighting collection …Successfully mounted at partner institution.Budget goals …Revenue goal exceeded by about 80%.Provide 100 programs …Done! 100THANNIVERSARY RECAP
AL0
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Engineering and design challenges: Agreement with new architectural design team to come before City Council shortly.Cost and schedule: Expected in 2025 as work begins with new team.
HARADA HOUSE PROJECT13
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1. House and carriage house painted2. Parking lot and walking paths paved3. Carriage house support spaces upgraded4. Robust housekeeping and pest control protocols in place
HERITAGE HOUSE PROGRESS
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While the downtown site is closed, Heritage House is the Museum’s primary program site.Thousands attended …a. Movies on the Lawnb. Ice Cream Socialc. Victorian teasd. Moon Festivale. Behind the Black Veilf. Christmas Open Houseg. Weekly tours for schools and public.
HERITAGE HOUSE PROGRAMMING15
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1. Repatriating Native American sacred collections.2. Collections moved from downtown site.3. Improved collection documentation and storage.
The picture can't be displayed.COLLECTION STEWARDSHIP
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1. FY2023-2024 attendance, all sites and outreach: 16,8392. FY2023-2024 digital audience: reach in the first half of the current FY alone: 521,4703. Strong attendance at Christmas Open House December: estimated 1,200 BY THE NUMBERS – A FEW HIGHLIGHTS17
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The picture can't be displayed.1. Move forward without further delay on downtown reno-vation & expansion.2. Continue planning reopening exhibitions and programs.3. Include and honor our community as we reinvent ourselves.
EXPECTATIONS
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Strategic Priority: Arts, Culture, and RecreationGoals 1.1.3, 1.2 (all actions), 1.4.2, 1.5.2, 1.5.4: Complete the Museum of Riverside renovation; offer diverse programming throughout the City; train staff; collaborate.Cross-Cutting Threads STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT19
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That the City Council receive and file a presentation providing an overview of the activities of the Museum Department and recognizing the Museum Department’s Employee of the Year.RECOMMENDATION RiversideCA.gov22
Robyn G. Peterson, Ph.D. Museum Director–[email protected]–(951)826-5792 THANK YOU21
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