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Autry Museum Refusing City’s Request

By Paul Aranda Jr., EGP Staff Writer


For members of a local museum coalition, the good vibes generated after a recent proposal by the city to secure a legal agreement from the Autry National Center on the future of the Southwest Museum have faded.

On July 28, the Board of Preferred Powers Chair, Janice Hahn, accepted Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar’s request to postpone the next committee meeting until after Aug. 31. The postponement will give Huizar (CD-14), charged with the negotiation of any such legal agreement, additional time to broker a deal with the Autry.

The postponement came after Huizar sent a letter dated July 27 to the Board in which he stated “I do not believe that the Autry has taken seriously the Board of Referred Power’s instructions to work out with me options for a legally binding agreement.”

Huizar sent the letter after the Autry Board of Trustees voted unanimously on July 15 to approve a resolution stating the Autry would not agree to any commitments related to the Southwest facilities.

In a separate letter sent to the Board of Referred Powers, Autry President John Gray stated that the Autry “would have no choice but to abandon” its Griffith Park expansion project, if it is forced into any such agreement.

The Autry says it has received strong support from a coalition of Native American tribes for its expansion project. In his letter, Gray stated that a Native American Trustee informed Huizar at the July 15 meeting, “the Native American community’s priority is the professional stewardship, protection and exhibition of the collection, and that it be located where that can best be achieved.”

On June 30, the Board of Referred Powers, before a standing-room only crowd in City Council chambers, voted to give Huizar time to broker a legal agreement with the Autry that would clearly define its intentions regarding the Southwest Museum.

Museum supporters have waged a six-year-long effort to preserve the current Mt. Washington facility as a fully functioning museum. The Friends of the Southwest Museum has long maintained that only a legal document would ensure that the Autry would not transfer the entire Southwest Museum’s collection to an expanded Griffith Park facility and abandon or sell the Southwest Museum site.

In 2007, the Autry sent Huizar a memorandum stating it would keep the Mt. Washington facility open as a community center with some exhibit space. The Southwest coalition rejected the proposal.

In a letter sent to coalition members, Chairwoman Nicole Possert stated that coalition representatives agreed upon three key items needed for an agreement: A legal binding commitment, a timeline for re-opening and 12,5000 square feet of exhibition space for the Southwest collection. The last item is a reference to “Option B” from the Brenda Levin study commissioned by the Autry to explore its options for the Mt. Washington facility.

For Eliot Sekuler, the latest move from the Autry has nearly brought him back full circle. Sekuler once served as a co-chair of the Friends of the Southwest coalition. He broke with the group because he felt it had become too rigid in its demands. Sekuler told EGP that he felt the Autry’s proposal to Huizar represented a good compromise. He is currently a member of the Southwest Society.

This separate group adds to the complex web that has engulfed the city ‘s first museum. In 2007, Gray, Huizar and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the formation of the Southwest Society, a partnership between the Autry and the city that would serve as the official advocate for the Northeast community to ensure the preservation of the Southwest Museum facilities and collection. However, according to Possert, the group has been largely absent from the scene since its well-publicized creation. That is why, said Possert, the coalition was  so suprised by Huizar’s June 30th proposal.

Sekuler said the Southwest Society plans to meet in two weeks to discuss the Autry’s resolution. He said he finds it “worrisome” that the Autry is reluctant to move forward on a compromise.  While “Option B” of the Levin Study would be nice, he says a smaller amount of exhibit space would still be victory for both the community and the city.

Although it is important for the Native American community to support proper management of the collection, Sekuler said it is important to remember that the Southwest collection also includes artifacts on the history of the Southwest, and at least some portion must remain in its original setting in Mt. Washington.

Sekuler said the possibility that the Autry could break from its 2006 proposal of some form of exhibition space in Mt. Washington troubles him.

“We ask [the Autry] to set at least some sort of benchmark, an assurance,” he said.

In her letter, Possert stated that perhaps this latest chapter in the Southwest Museum saga would allow Huizar to finally understand the frustration the coalition has experienced in its long standoff with the Autry.

“As the first elected official to be publicly granted a meeting directly with the Autry Board of Directors in regards to this issue,” she said, “he now has first hand knowledge of the Autry decision-maker’s position.”

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August 6, 2009  Copyright © 2010 Eastern Group Publications, Inc.

Comments

One Response to “Autry Museum Refusing City’s Request”

  1. 10 spder on August 7th, 2009 12:44 pm

    Gerat! Let them abandon Griffith Park– that’s what we wanted all along!
    Maybe some other art institution — museum will agree to take ober– how about a satellite for the Smithsonian?

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