Conclusion

An Email from the Jewish Museum Milwaukee.

The three museums examined in this exhibit - Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Lynden Sculpture Garden and Milwaukee Public Museum - appear to be weathering the pandemic with a degree of success as of mid-May 2020. The long-term effects of the pandemic on these cultural institutions, however, will not be known for months and most likely years in future.

Staffs are maintaining a robust presence online with options for virtual tours and exhibits at their websites, highlights of unique artifacts and interesting tidbits from archives, webinars offered on schedules of one or more times per week with links provided in newsletters and social media posts, and email blasts. There has been no lack of work for staff members who have become experts at thinking outside of the box, experimenting with technologies, and working remotely using laptops, cell phones and video conferencing.

"Giving Tuesday," an annual fundraising event for nonprofit institutions all over the US, happened during the height of the pandemic - May 5, 2020. Most musuem development staffs approached the day with at least some trepidation - would their members be willing to donate to their institution at a time of great economic uncertainty? Julie Quinlan Brame, Sr. VP of Development at MPM, mentioned in her oral history that she was confident the museum's donors would step up and support the museum in this, its greatest time of need. On Giving Tuesday, the museum raised nearly a half million dollars - an impressive figure, and one that might not have occurred if the pandemic hadn't happened.  Likewise, JMM exceeded its much more modest Giving Tuesday goal of $7,500.

Patti Sherman-Cisler, Executive Director at JMM, saw a "silver lining" within the calamity of the pandemic. In her oral history, she proudly stated that her staff has learned that they were able to reach 10,000 people in six weeks through the museum's virtual programming - a figure that is about equal to the typical total yearly attendance at the museum under normal circumstances.

Polly Harris, Executive Director at LSG, summed up the situation rather well in her interview that however the effects of the pandemic play out, the nonprofit world will most likely never be the same. What that truly means, either positively or negatively, for the museum world in the coming years remains to be seen. But one thing is certain - Milwaukee museums have risen to the challenge. If any of them ultimately fail – and current “whisper” estimates in the industry indicate that up to 30% of museums worldwide will not reopen after the pandemic – it will not be for lack of effort or a quick response to events that caught everyone by surprise.