Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 13, No. 548.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
<http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 21:14:59 +0100
From: "David L. Green" <david@ninch.org>
Subject: MoMA & Tate Gallery Announce Joint Commercial Web Venture
NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources
from across the Community
April 19
Museum of Modern Art and Tate Gallery
Announce Joint Commercial Web Venture
<http://www.moma.org/docs/press/2000/fF_PO02,c8458,.htm>http://www
<http://www.moma.org/docs/press/2000/fF_PO02,c8458,.htm>http://www.moma.org/
docs/press/2000/fF_PO02,c8458,.htm
Following on the heels of recent announcements by Questia and the Fathom
consortium of commercial websites delivering cultural heritage materials,
is an announcement of a joint commercial web-based enterprise between New
Yok's Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Gallery of London.
Here is the MoMA Press Release.
For the NINCH Announcement of the Questia enterprise, see:
<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/2000/0037.html>http://www.cni.org
/Hforums/ninch-announce/2000/0037.html
For the NINCH Announcement of Fathom, see
<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/2000/0039.html>http://www.cni.org
/Hforums/ninch-announce/2000/0039.html
David Green
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April 17
TWO OF THE WORLD'S PREEMINENT ART INSTITUTIONS--MOMA AND THE TATE
GALLERY--FORM PARTNERSHIP TO LAUNCH UNPRECEDENTED CULTURAL INTERNET VENTURE
**New Company Will Draw on Museums' Unrivaled Collections and Intellectual
Capital to Expand Global Audience for Modern Art, Design, and Culture
**Dot.com is the First Project in Wider Collaboration
Two of the world's most prominent art museums, The Museum of Modern Art,
New York, and The Tate Gallery, United Kingdom, have formed a partnership
and agreed to create an independent for-profit e-business that
will establish the premier destination on the Internet for individuals to
access, understand, and purchase the best in modern art, design, and
culture, MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry and Tate Director Sir Nicholas
Serota announced today.
The venture will be a separate entity, managed and staffed independently
from the two institutions. It will build on a public surge of interest in
the museums' unique holdings, programs and expertise, as demonstrated by
increasing attendance, both to the museums and their online counterparts,
at www.moma.org, and www.tate.org.uk. The Museum of Modern Art and The Tate
Gallery had a combined attendance of more than 5 million people in the
last year, while the institutions' Web sites received an additional 4
million international visitors. Together, the two museums manage retail
operations with $50 million in annual sales. The Internet company is the
first project in an expanded association, which is expected to include
membership, education, retail, and publishing programs as well as staff
exchanges. MoMA and The Tate are currently collaborating on a major
exhibition to be shown in both venues, as they have done numerous times in
the past. This wider partnership represents a logical evolution from those
curatorial initiatives.
The newly formed venture, to be headquartered in New York and scheduled
to launch in late 2000 or early 2001, will draw on the extensive
collection, international reputation, and intellectual resources of MoMA
and The Tate to provide an accessible, personalized, visually
striking environment that will offer a global audience the opportunity to
pursue cultural knowledge and enrichment. The venture's distinctive online
presence will appeal to a wide and diverse audience, including art experts
and enthusiasts, educators, professionals, artists, and students, as well
as general museum and gallery visitors, and those simply interested in art
and culture. Investment in the enterprise will allow MoMA and The Tate
to employ the potential of the Internet to strengthen their positions as
unparalleled institutions of their kind.
The new undertaking will be organized into areas devoted to content,
commerce, and community. In-depth, original content will be developed and
licensed by the museums and other arts organizations, outside experts and
critics, artists, designers, and filmmakers. Exclusive products and
services to be offered in the commerce portion of the site will include
design objects and furniture, books and media, customized art
tours, ticketing for arts events, and educational courses. The community
aspect of the site will be realized through chat rooms, virtual tours of
collections and exhibitions, and webcasts of live lectures, symposia,
concerts, and performances. The site will focus on modern culture and the
most contemporary developments in the visual, applied, and performing arts
taking place in the United States, the United Kingdom, and around the world.
MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry states, "The Museum of Modern Art and The
Tate Gallery have long been pioneers in the museum world, and we look
forward to extending that groundbreaking spirit to the Internet. This
exciting new venture will allow us to spread our message to a new global
audience interested in art, design, and culture, and underscores our firm
commitment to fiscal responsibility and long-term financial stability
for this institution. To have the opportunity to pursue and expand on
these goals in tandem with our close colleagues at the Tate benefits us all."
Tate Director Sir Nicholas Serota notes, "The twenty-first century is
all about access. This new venture will promote deeper access to the best
of visual culture around the world to the benefit of all those who
are interested and engaged with art." The Museum of Modern Art and The
Tate Gallery are the founding partners of the independently managed and
staffed corporation. An internationally prominent Board of Directors will
be assembled, with MoMA and The Tate holding seats. Financing will be
provided by a small group of Trustees, who have made philanthropic
contributions in order to start the company, as well as venture capital
funds. A strong management group, drawn from the top talent in the
industry, will build and lead the organization. Revenue will be primarily
generated through a combination of commerce and advertising, as well as
through affiliate sales from participating sites, pay-per-view offerings
of featured material, and syndication of original content.
The Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art, founded in 1929, has the foremost collection of
twentieth-century art in the world, including 100,000 paintings,
sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, architectural models and
drawings, and design objects. The Museum is poised to enter the
construction phase of a $650 million Building Project, the most ambitious
in the Museum's history, which will dramatically enlarge the exhibition
space and add new education, research, and retail facilities to the
Museum's building on West 53 Street in Midtown Manhattan.
The Tate Gallery
The Tate Gallery was founded in 1897 and houses the national collections of
British art from the sixteenth century to the present day, and of
international modern art. The Tate has galleries in London, (Tate
Britain, opened March 2000, and Tate Modern, which will open on May 12,
2000) Liverpool, and St. Ives.
No. 33
1998 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
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