Peoria Riverfront Museum reports record attendance, national partnerships and major upcoming exhibitions
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Summary
Museum leaders told the Peoria County Board the institution is privately funded, reported membership and visitation growth and outlined a yearlong "Promise of Liberty" exhibition that includes documents and guest curator participation.
John Morris, president and CEO of the Peoria Riverfront Museum, told the Peoria County Board that the museum reported growth in membership and attendance, new national partnerships and major exhibitions scheduled for the coming year.
"Thank you for representing the taxpayers of Peoria County for letting us live in your house," Morris said, describing the museum as a public building that is nevertheless "100% privately funded" for operations.
Morris told the board the museum now has about 5,400 private members and has added about 1,100 Bradley University affiliates as complimentary members through a private gift. He said private giving to the museum has increased substantially since he arrived eight years ago.
Morris described upcoming programming for the American semi-quincentennial ("America 250") including a flagship exhibition titled "Promise of Liberty," for which he said filmmaker Ken Burns has agreed to serve as guest curator. He also said the museum has secured collectible materials to be displayed, including a 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence, an original 1963 printing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech (noted in the transcript as a "1963 bibliograph"), and an original printing and signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. The museum plans roughly 70 documents in the exhibition beginning in January of the exhibition year, Morris said.
Morris also announced that former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card will visit Peoria and participate in a museum announcement on Sept. 11; he linked the visit to the museum's upcoming programming on the national anniversary.
Morris and museum staff credited partnerships and private philanthropy for the museum's program growth, and he listed collaborations including Art Bridges and the American Museum of Natural History. He also highlighted recent successful special exhibitions that drew long lines and visitors from multiple states.
Board members expressed appreciation and asked about upcoming announcements. Morris declined to detail one large exhibition before the museum's planned Sept. 11 media release.
The presentation was informational; the board did not take formal action on museum funding at the meeting.
