A low, gray sky, a chill air and an uncertain future greeted donors and VIPs at the grand opening of the new home for the Jersey City Museum Wednesday.
The astonishing $6.3 million building, housed in a former parking garage at the corner of Montgomery and Monmouth streets, Downtown, played host to about 200 wine-sipping, mango-munching guests, with one notable absence: recently deposed Executive Director Nina Jacobs.
After months of turmoil, it appears Jacobs, head of the museum since 1990, is now out of a job.
Some officials denied this, however. Chairman of the Board of Trustees and New Jersey City University President Dr. Carlos Hernandez insisted that Jacobs was still executive director, but offered little in the way of explanation. “We’re still discussing the future direction and management of the museum,” he said. When pressed further, he said: “She’s still the executive director.” No formal announcement has been made on Jacobs’s status. She is listed in press material and other museum literature as the executive director, but was not at the event. Hernandez’s statements stand in stark contrast to those of Summit Bank’s Ofelia Garcia, himself a trustee, at the Wednesday night event. “It’s all over,” he said of Jacobs, confirming reports of many others. “She’s gone.” When asked the reason for her departure, he said, “I think she was looking for other venues for herself.” He described Jacobs’s departure as “amicable” and added: “I’m surprised she’s not here.” A mediator was brought in last year after several employees signed a petition complaining about Jacobs’s management style. After those discussions, the board recommended the removal of Jacobs. “It was determined after all that, that she’d be better off elsewhere,” said Garcia. Many in the current mayor’s administration and other observers, however, contend that the move was simply a political coup to replace Jacobs. The city has contributed about $2.5 to the museum in the past few years, and struggled mightily to pull funds together to get the project finished this year. Jacobs and an attorney she had retained did not respond to repeated calls for comment last week. Many of those in attendance questioned how the move would affect funding and perception. Still, AT&T presented the museum with a $25,000 check Wednesday, and other notable developers like the Lefrak Organization, Mack-Cali and Goldman Sachs have all pledged money. The museum is also applying for a $125,000 grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge foundation. The mayor’s wife, Lynn Schundler, cut the ribbon marking the opening. She later said she had intended to mention Jacobs in her comments, but omitted her when she was told Jacobs was no longer a part of the museum. Jacobs leaves her position much the same way as she ascended to it. Former director Cynthia Sanford lost her job in 1990 when the Board of Trustees voted Sanford off and Jacobs – then Sanford’s assistant – in. It was unclear who will ascend to the director’s position, but for ProArts head Charles Kessler, in attendance at the opening, the departure means one thing. “If there is a new director,” he said, “I hope they do a thorough search.” Meanwhile, there was a gala event
The new 30,000 square-foot museum houses 20,000 pieces of art. But there’s not a whole heck of a lot of it up on the wall right now. “It’s a very minimalistic show up there,” quipped Doug Rose, a Downtown resident and contributor. As a jazz quartet played in what will soon become the gift shop, curator Alejandro Anreus, a NJCU adjunct professor, led a tour of the second floor galleries. Though the walls are bare, most of the galleries will be dedicated in the future to the permanent collection, including images of Jersey City’s industrial past. Another room will display late 19th to early 20th century impressionist works. Another gallery will be host to Latino, Asian, African-American and New Jersey artists. In September, an exhibit on the Sacco-Vanzetti incident – a 1920s trial in which two Italian immigrants were hanged – will grace the temporary gallery’s walls. As a visitor enters from Montgomery Street, he is greeted by a high atrium above and a slate floor below. There’s the aforementioned gift shop, a caf
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