La Conner’s museums still here but only visits are online

Local fiber artists used to work on their projects over coffee every Friday at the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.

Now they check in from as far away as Hawaii and New Mexico.

When the Museum closed on March 18, the group shifted to Zoom. “We still talk and show off what we’re making,” said Executive Director Amy Green. “It’s like a modern-day quilting bee.”

Virtual Fiber Friday is just one example of how La Conner museums have engaged patrons in spite of being shuttered.

Podcasts, virtual art classes, YouTube videos and social media are keeping the Museum of Northwest Art “as connected to our community as we could, while honoring our two mandates, education and exhibition,” said Executive Director Joanna Sikes.

She’s pleased that thousands of people are interacting with these programs – but can’t wait for the real thing to resume. “After all this time working apart, we miss each other and the artists.”

Skagit County Historical Museum Director Jo Wolfe feels the same way. “When I walk into the museum, I want to weep,” she said. “There’s nobody there, and no kids coming for school tours.”

Because the Historical Museum does not have the capacity to develop online programming, Wolfe said staff “have been taking care of the treasures we’ve been entrusted with and recognizing the living history happening right now.”

Historical Museum staff are tracking down Skagit-related artifacts from the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic in the Washington State archives and smaller county museums. They will soon release a survey to gather stories from today’s pandemic. “What would you want someone 50 years from now to know about life in Skagit County during the COVID-19 pandemic?” asked Wolfe. “We want to know!”

With Skagit County in Phase 2 of the COVID-19 recovery plan, staff at all three museums are mostly back in their offices, although masked, alternating work days and observing social distancing. They are busy rescheduling canceled exhibits and events and preparing to open when Phase 3 finally begins.

The Historical Museum’s exhibit about Skagit accordion player and teacher Hugo Helmer, planned for April and never installed, is now slated for 2021. So is the Quilt Museum’s International Quilt and Fiber Arts Festival, originally planned for July.

MoNA is prepping a 162-piece, 60-artist exhibit on the Barn Show and the Historical Museum is organizing one on the artwork of La Conner resident Jesus Guillén.

Quilt Museum staff are pondering how to safely offer face-to-face events in a space designed to be a home, not a museum.

“It’s hard to control traffic flow in the Gaches Mansion in a way that allows for social distancing,” Green said. The museum must dramatically decrease the number of visitors who can view its upcoming Japanese textiles exhibit at the same time.

Inviting the Museum’s 500 or so members to visit by appointment may be the best compromise between engaging people and protecting them.

“The majority of our volunteers and members are in pretty high-risk groups,” said Green. “Many of our volunteers won’t be returning.”

Finances are a big concern. The Historical Museum started the year in good shape, but after all fundraising events were canceled, “we’re tightening our belt and applying for grants,” said Wolfe. “But we have weathered lean times before and we can do it again!”

Rumors of significant cuts to the Skagit County budget may indicate more challenges ahead. Besides supplying some funding, the County provides the Museum’s computer systems and IT support.

“Individual contributions and grants will be critical factors in our survival,” said Green, who is grateful for checks from sympathetic supporters.

With its store open again, MoNA is receiving some income from sales. The annual art auction, MoNA’s biggest and most significant fundraiser, is rebooting as an online auction that begins Sept. 9. The four-day event will blend silent and live auctions and offer many ways to bid.

In a very dicey year, the three museums are glad to call La Conner home.

“It’s wonderful that a place the size of La Conner has three successful museums, each with its own successful mission,” said Sikes.”

“We have been very lucky that our community has continued to support us as they can. We couldn’t do it without the artists, docents, volunteers and members. That’s our community!