[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"]
[/caption]Louis Grachos, director of the Albright- Knox Art Gallery, has been pushing the envelope at the museum since his arrival more than five years ago. Indeed, that was what he was hired to do in the first place. The latest of his ventures is a large exhibition celebrating 40 years of the Sabres in the NHL. With the obvious connection between the Sabres and the Albright-Knox, this show was a no-brainer as an audience-broadening extravaganza and another example of Grachos’ outside-the-box thinking in running the gallery.
The gallery and Grachos have seized upon an opportunity to attract new audiences; more sports-minded individuals who might not otherwise visit the museum. Broadening audiences and increasing attendance with this kind of exhibition is smart and innovative museum administration. The increased revenues from admissions and membership sales will benefit the gallery’s bottom line.
Two articles by art critic Colin Dabkowski in the Nov. 7 News appear contradictory. While raising issues of corporate influence in his article about the Sabres show at the Albright-Knox, it is ironic that Dabkowski’s commentary on the same page bemoans the cuts in county funding for the arts. Rather than a negative appraisal of the Sabres show at the Albright-Knox, it seems to me the gallery should be applauded for its efforts to broaden its audience and increase its earned income.
Rob Steinfeld
Amherst
Article From: Buffalo News
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