One year after the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Connie Wolf still feels like pinching herself.
The museum’s director and CEO says reaching the first anniversary of the museum’s opening on San Francisco’s Mission Street in June 2008 is “amazing and wonderful. A sense of routine has emerged, but there’s always a sense of discovery.”
Wolf is happy to rattle off some stats: 780 public tours, 191 private tours, 11 exhibits, 75 private gatherings (corporate, bar mitzvahs, etc.), more than 6,000 museum members and 137,000 visitors through the turnstiles. She says those numbers exceed initial projections.
The museum’s striking facility, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, opened after nearly a decade of planning and construction.
As important as the art itself, Wolf says the museum’s mission to foster dialogue and community appears to be catching fire. “In this time of difficult moments in people’s lives, the reality is people still want to be together, and have meaning whether to experience a talk, or see an exhibit, or come as a family.”
CJM board chair Roselyne “Cissy” Swig, a longtime champion of the museum, says that for her, the first year’s high point has been the museum’s enthusiastic reception.
“That occurs first of all because [people] love the building and how it fits in the arts neighborhood,” Swig says. “On behalf of the Jewish community, there’s an increasing pride in the fact that we supported a building and an institution that will enrich all of San Francisco.”
Jews make up about half of all CJM visitors, according to surveys.
Despite the shaky economy, Wolf is upbeat about the museum’s financial health. She says the institution will balance its budget this year, benefiting from careful forecasting leading up to the opening. “Since we opened, we had to be very strategic in terms of staffing and overhead. We’ve been very cautious, and we feel really good about what we’ve got.”
The museum employs 35 staffers.
In addition to regular exhibitions, Wolf touts the CJM’s expanded programming, such as the recently launched Oy Vey Thursdays.
“It’s important that people have food, shelter and employment,” Wolf says. “They also need to feel good about who they are as members of society. Artists help you do that.”