Continued Efforts to Re-Open the Carnegie Art Museum

After the Cornerstones kept a 9/12/23 proposal by the City Manager from going to the City Council, we were hoping the city would heed our insistence they gather public input before deciding on the fate of the Museum and the Permanent Collection.  When that was not forthcoming, we sent out a survey earlier this year to our mailing list, and the response was overwhelming positive for opening, and even expanding the Museum.  That survey is now being sent out to other community groups.

​The Cornerstones have now joined forces with the Save Oxnard’s Art Committee in the continued fight to re-open the museum and save the Permanent Collection from being sold off.  We have met with the mayor and presented our case.  We have also asked for a qualified professional to assess the collection for any damage that may have occurred during this five-year closure and review building conditions to ensure appropriate measures are in place for proper preservation.

Despite our intervention, the city has proceeded to hire a consultant to review the collection for value, to see what can be sold off, and to recommend a process for doing so.  This must be stopped!

The Save Oxnard’s Arts Committee is now ramping up efforts with presentations to various local groups and formulating an on-line campaign to raise more awareness.  The Cornerstones will be very active in this.

Our first public presence for the cause was at Thursday night’s Art Crawl in downtown Oxnard.  The food trucks would draw a crowd, so this was an opportune time to ‘wave the flag.”  The Cornerstones brought our tent tables, chairs, and easels to display the banners and posters we created and supplied for set up in Plaza Park.  We featured local artists the Museum has supported, highlighted pieces from the Permanent Collection, and showed the types of events folks would miss if it did not reopen.

Despite the earlier rain (hence the plastic on the posters) and the cold wind, it was a productive night.  Loads of people came by to talk, ask questions and scan the QR code to go to the on-line survey.  Quite a few even signed up for the Cornerstones’ email list for updates on the progress.  There was real concern about the museum not reopening, offers to help, and suggestions on other groups to approach for support.  We will continue this presence at different events around town.