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Rogue Gallery could go under Needs $60,000 boost to stay afloat By BILL VARBLE The Rogue Gallery and Art Center could be forced to close its doors before the end of 1999 unless it succeeds in raising $60,000, a Gallery official said. "We're shooting for raising the money in the next six months, but the board is hoping for lots of it to come in now," interim director Judy Barnes said Monday. Gallery officials sent a letter to members this month describing its money situation as a "financial crisis." If its 642 members gave an average of $100, the $60,000 would be in hand, the letter pointed out. The Gallery is a not-for-profit organization founded more than three decades ago by Jacksonville artist Eugene Bennett and other artists and art patrons. In addition to providing a gallery for exhibits, it has long operated a wide array of programs ranging from art classes to children's programs. Barnes said a number of factors have been squeezing the gallery's pocketbook. Art classes are offered, especially to children, at less than the cost of providing them. Maintenance on the old building at 40 S. Bartlett St. has often been deferred. Exhibits and programs have expanded faster than income. Gallery attendance almost doubled in the past decade, from 11,000 visitors to more than 20,000. But attendance doesn't translate into income, except through the rare art exhibit that actually sells lots of artworks like a Bennett retrospective did a while back. Old sources of money have in some cases dwindled. An annual Christmas tree event is not being done anymore, and a spring art fest raised steadily less money. An auction is now the gallery's major fund-raising event, Barnes said. She said the Gallery is looking at various long-term solutions and is open to ideas. "We've been talking with people about what the future of arts organizations should be," she says. Among the possibilities: special gifts from members, finding sponsors for Gallery programs, going more to collaborative projects with Rogue Community College and other groups. RCC uses the Gallery now for classroom space for a couple of classes. Barnes says Gallery officials remain committed to the idea it's important to have an arts presence in Medford. "Where else would kids get a gallery experience?" she said. She's worried that the Gallery doesn't have as visible a profile as performance-based nonprofits like the nearby Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater, or the Britt or Shakespeare festivals. "A lot of people don't know us," she said. "The arts aren't the kind of thing people see as an emergency. But as far as the quality of community life, I hope they look at it." Basic memberships are $25 for individuals and $40 per family. Donations are tax-deductible. For information on Gallery memberships or programs, call 772-8118. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA