WATER MILL, NY.- In November 2013, the Parrish Art Museum celebrated its one-year anniversary in its award-winning building designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. The first 16 months in the new location brought increased interest in the 116-year-old institution from regional, national, and international visitors, evidenced by a significant increase in attendance and membership numbers, 173 gifts of important works of art, and coveted awards for the Museum’s iconic design.
New Members & New Visitors
With the anticipation of the new Museum building, membership at the Parrish spiked in the 12 months prior to the opening, from 1,642 members in November 2011, to 2,686 members by November 2012—a 39% increase. That upward trend continued through 2013, with 3,705 members by the end of the year.
The number of museum visitors also increased. In the first 16 months at the new location, between the new Museum’s opening in November 2012 and March 2014, the Museum welcomed 60,474 visitors.
In addition, visits to the Museum's web site, parrishart.org increased significantly, as did the numbers of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter followers on the Parrish Art Museum's social media channels.
New Gifts of Art
The opening of the new building in a new location spurred a dramatic growth in the Museum’s permanent collection, with 173 gifts of art:
· 44 paintings
· 16 sculpture pieces
· 69 works on paper
· 44 photographs
· 50 of the total works were by 17 artists who are new to the Parrish Collection
The new gifts of art, many of which are currently on view at the Parrish Art Museum, include the Museum's first work by acclaimed video artist Peter Campus, Passage at Bellport Harbor (2010). Among the additional works are: Stephen Antonakos, Voyage (1999); Alice Aycock, The Rosetta Stone City Intersected by the Celestial Alphabet (1985); Norman Bluhm, Untitled (1957); Dan Budnik, Roy Lichtenstein with sons David and Mitchell (1964, printed 1996); Willem de Kooning, Rocks and Trees (ca. 1965); Mark di Suvero, Wet Wash (1992–93); Mel Kendrick, Untitled (2012); Louise Nevelson, Untitled (c. late 1970s); Dorothea Rockburne, The Cross is in the Center, Tintoretto (1988–89); and Donald Sultan, Lemon, Nov. 28, 1983 (1983).
Parrish Mobile App
The Museum created its first mobile app for iPhone, to be used as an audio guide in the Museum or as a preview. The app, which prompted 500+ downloads, integrates material from the Parrish database on regional artists with audio commentary and images from the galleries.
Online Video Series
The Parrish has taken great strides to make connections between artists and the public through videos available on two websites—
Vimeo (vimeo.com/parrishartmuseum), and East End Stories (Artists.parrishart.org). The 72 video portraits on East End Stories show artists speaking directly to the viewer, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process. Between 2012 and 2013, the series attracted a 20% increase in visitors.
Vimeo.com/parrishartmuseum contains more than 100 videos that originated at the Parrish. In one year, the Museum’s videos attracted:
· 25,000 page loads
· Plays throughout the United States and over 50 countries worldwide.
Awards
After a year of critical accolades from the art and architecture media, the Parrish earned important distinctions for the building design, and an award for a café chair designed exclusively for the Museum:
· Travel + Leisure Magazine: Design Award for Best Museum in the publication’s tenth annual International Design competition, January 2014. The Parrish was the only architecture winner from the United States, out of 18 categories.
· Wallpaper* Magazine: 2013 Design Award for the Best Public Building of the Year.
· The Wall Street Journal: Named one of the best new museums, December 2012.
· Architectural Digest: Listed as one of the twelve “Big, Bold, and Buzzworthy” museums of 2012.
· Dwell Magazine: “Best in Show” award for the Parrish Chair, designed by world-renowned, award winning industrial designer Konsantin Grcic, and produced/distributed by Emeco for the Parrish Art Museum’s café and terrace, at Dwell On Design 2013 competition.
Exhibitions
Since the opening of the new building, and through 2013, the Parrish Art Museum has:
· Originated 8 Special Exhibitions
· Traveled 3 Exhibitions (Alice Aycock, Jennifer Bartlett, Chuck Close Prints) to other venues nationally
· Created a new initiative: Parrish Platform, the Museum’s project-based series where artists to respond to the Museum site through temporary interventions and public events.
· Launched the second season of Parrish Road Show, the Museum’s offsite exhibition series that features artists’ projects in unexpected places across the East End.
Publications
The Museum developed and produced four major books in 2013:
· Alice Aycock: Some Stories are Worth Repeating, distributed by Yale University Press
· Jennifer Bartlett: History of the Universe, distributed by Yale University Press
· Pollock, Ossorio, Dubuffet, distributed by Yale University Press
· William Glackens, published in collaboration with Rizzoli
Programs
The Parrish presented more than 70 ancillary events in the first year, most to capacity audiences.
· PechaKucha Nights: As the official site in the Hamptons for this international, fast-paced presentation series founded in Tokyo, the Parrish invites artists, writers, musicians, gardeners, farmers, baymen, winemakers, chefs, designers, architects, and other creative professionals to discuss their process.
· The Lounge: New music series featuring local musicians performing in a casual setting in the Museum’s Lichtenstein Auditorium.
· Salon Series: Six concerts by award-winning classical young musicians. Co-programmed with Concert Artists Guild and Pro Musicis.
· Sounds of Summer: Casual al fresco summer concerts on the terrace.
Education
The Parrish Art Museum served 1,500 children and families, 2,100 students, and over 1,000 adults with public programs in 2013. The Education Department hosted:
· 195+ Private group and school tours
· 40 Public tours
· 25 Family tours and workshops
· 67 On- and off-site workshops
· 52 Open Studios for students and teens
· 7 Weeks of summer art camp
· 12-month Education programs for 450 students
