Since his appointment as the director of the Worcester Art Museum six months ago, Matthias Waschek has instituted a museum-wide initiative to provide multiple points of access for visitors. To help emphasize this point, the Museum has kicked-off an aggressive fundraising campaign to support the re-opening of the famed Salisbury doors (the entrance on Salisbury Street).
The museum, which initially reached out to its members and received an overwhelming response, is now hoping the public will lend their support to reach the goal of raising $60,000.
“Opening the front doors of the museum, with the help of our members and community, jumpstarts our museum-wide philosophy of providing access,” said Waschek. “In addition, the Salisbury Street entrance allows our guests to enter directly into the Renaissance Court which we believe is truly the cornerstone of the Museum,” he added.
The doors were originally closed, except for weekends and special events, a few years ago when the economy weakened and the museum had to explore ways to reduce expenses. With the cost of keeping the doors open full-time in the tens of thousands of dollars annually, it proved to be a tough, but necessary decision to make. And the museum has been hearing about it from members and visitors ever since.
“The front doors are a traditional symbol of welcome—if the doors are closed, visitors will think we don’t want them here,” adds Waschek. “We want the opposite.”
Anyone interested in making a donation, can visit the museum’s website at worcesterart.org or call 508-793-4323.