Perez Art Museum has cut staff amid the COVID-19 crisis. It hopes to reopen Sept. 1
Pérez Art Museum Miami said Friday it has laid off 15 full-time workers, furloughed 54 part-timers and instituted salary cuts for the remaining 49 employees.
After the museum closed March 16 to avoid the spread of COVID-19, the museum’s board formed at task force to examine expenses and deemed the staff cut unavoidable, said PAMM director Franklin Sirmans. Salaries account for about 43% of the county-supported museum’s annual $15 million budget.
The museum hopes to reopen Sept. 1 and is planning to bring back the furloughed part-timers at that time, Sirmans said. They include retail and teaching artists, among others.
The layoffs cut across all departments — including curatorial, marketing and administrative, he said, with no department spared but all taking at least one cut.
All remaining employees will take salary cuts ranging from 5-15%, depending on their compensation, he said.
“We feel horrible that we had to do this,” he said, “but we will move forward, being deliberate about what we can do.”
One bright spot: Audiences have responded strongly to new digital programs. About 600 tuned in for a Facebook Live event featuring art critic Jerry Saltz on April 9; another Facebook Live, with artist Rhea Leonard, is slated for April 30.
Videos featuring local artists have also resonated, he said. And the museum shop also has gone online.
“It’s giving us some new ways of looking at art and talking about art,” he said. “We’re expanding our reach and audience.”
