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Terry Stewart, president of Cleveland museum, says New York annex is not a plot to move
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
Published on Thursday, Aug 28, 2008
It's been an exciting year for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Late last year, the museum and the New York-based Rock Hall Foundation announced that the 2009 festivities would be held in Cleveland for the first time since 1997 with an option (that will surely be picked up) to hold the induction ceremony in Cleveland every three years.
In addition, a few months from now, the rock hall will open a 25,000-square-foot annex in the heart of New York's hip and happening Soho neighborhood, and next year plans to open a similar space in Memphis at the Gibson guitar building. The museum is also building a $20 million library and archive at Cuyahoga Community College and is about to embark on the first museum renovation in 20 years.
Some conspiracy-minded folks are suggesting that the annex might be the first step in moving the museum to New York, or at least that the Rock Hall Foundation is once again steamrolling the museum (and by extension, Cleveland). Many folks also believe that the foundation is NYC-centric and doesn't give a rat's tushie about the goings on in Cleveland.
But if you're one of those people who think of the foundation as just a bully constantly pushing Northeast Ohio around, don't try to float that notion past rock hall President Terry Stewart.
''Nothing could be further from the truth,'' he said by phone. ''Obviously, it's something that is always aggravating because, for whatever reason, people forget that New York could have put this museum anywhere they wanted to and they chose Cleveland.
''Cleveland didn't create this and a lot of folks in this region forget that. They think that we had this idea one day and decided we'd build it. We have a license with New York and that was something that was negotiated over a period of time.
''[People] get their dander up about the inductions but we can have the inductions here any time we want to take on the financial risk.''
Stewart said that in addition to 2009 festivities at Public Hall, there will be tickets made available to the public at reasonable prices. A table at the NYC event costs more than $2,000.
''New York is giving us $8 million toward [the archive] so that is as strong a statement about how important the museum and the extension of the museum with the library archives going here as you can have.''
Stewart wants people to know that the museum makes its own decisions about its future and that the New York foundation is a partner, not an overseer. He also said that anything that benefits the museum benefits the entire Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concept and having a satellite space in one of the biggest and most famous cities in the world is simply a good idea that isn't costing the museum (or taxpayers) any money.
The New York and Memphis annexes will feature fewer artifacts and more technologically based, multimedia activities. Stewart said the NYC annex will have 15,000 square feet of exhibit space and will be a 50- to 60-minute experience while the museum has 150,000 square feet and is a four- to five-hour experience. Additionally, Stewart said that if the museum and its partners find that traffic is one day insufficient in New York, they might decide to close up shop and move the annex to another city, but NYC is a pretty good place to start.
''New York allows us to be in the largest media and tourist market in the world, which allows us to partner with a lot of folks on sponsorships and allows us to engage donors for our philanthropic purposes in a city which is unique in the world,'' he said. ''And it gives us a great PR opportunity to remind people about the museum in Cleveland. In fact, the space in New York has an entire section called 'Cleveland Rocks' that shows why you need to come to Cleveland to see the whole megillah.''
So the ideal scenario would be the following: Jean and Jeanine Frenchman come to the Big Apple on holiday and make their way to the New York annex. where they are wowed by all the cool rock stuff. After spending a few minutes in the Cleveland Rocks section, they decide that next time they cross the pond, they might spend a few days (and lots of discretionary income) touring the museum and the city.
''It won't always happen on the same trip,'' he said. ''It won't always happen at all, but we will have captured them at some point and we may have sold them a membership and we will get their attention about coming to Cleveland. . . . There is a financial reward in them going to New York, even if they don't make it to Cleveland.''
In Stewart's mind, the New York and Memphis spaces and any other future spaces (there have been quiet talks of a space opening in Abu Dhabi) can only be a boon to the museum (and, by extension, Cleveland).
''It's a really strategic and tactical move to extend the brand and our reach,'' he said. ''In the long run, it will be financially beneficial if it works the way our partners think it will.''
And, just in case you haven't figured out that Stewart's a little touchy about the frequent suggestions of NYC dictating the museum's moves, please allow him to reiterate.
''Again, this is our deal. It wasn't done through us or at us. It was done for us at our behest with an arrangement we tailored.''
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
It's been an exciting year for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Get the full article here.
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