Fiscal Year 2020-2021: Reflections

When I stop and reflect on the prior fiscal year I can’t help but feel an enormous amount of pride in the effort and dedication of our team here at the Gallery. Our amazingly talented and committed staff have persevered under especially trying conditions and yet have steadfastly continued to support the enduring mission of Gallery: to provide public awareness, education, and enjoyment of the visual arts by promoting the works of Michigan artists. Our team has had to rethink how we serve the community to provide safe and accessible art experiences and have developed and executed a host of events, exhibitions and activities that have been a bright spot in Lansing over the previous year.

• With limited scheduled appointments we were able to serve 1,500 patrons in a manner that was safe for both guests and staff.

• We opened a new online shopping experience and saw 75 shoppers purchase over 150 pieces of Michigan-made art.

• We found ways to bring art into people’s homes with 600 art supply kits and 150 home-made Sock Creatures.

• We brought art outdoors with Art Path, making the Lansing River Trail a cultural hot spot with 85,000 visits.

We’ve also worked hard to recognize the talent and effort our staff put forth on a daily basis that allow the Gallery to be successful and have taken a number of steps to make the Gallery a premier employer  We’ve invested in several professional development opportunities to allow our staff to develop and hone new skills, we’ve increased wages and benefits to become more competitive, and invested in new technology and tools so ensure our staff has the resources to be their best.

Now looking back on a fiscal year that saw many local businesses shut their doors, I can only reflect on how grateful we have been at the Gallery to have had such a wonderful team and such a supportive community to help us navigate such trying times.  We have been so very pleased to see the outpouring of patronage and financial contributions from our members and community.  We saw art sales increase by more than 10% and saw funding from individual donors also increase more than 10% in the same period.  Combined with generous support from grants we have been able to continue our mission and hopefully bring joy in what has been an often-bleak year. 

I can say we are incredibly grateful and humbled to have such an outstanding team and to be able to serve a community as kind and generous as Greater Lansing.  We look forward to continuing to serve in the coming years: providing public awareness, education, and enjoyment of the visual arts by promoting the works of Michigan artists.

– Keith Rouse, Board President