We are still fighting to keep our beloved Volunteer Park free from an expanded Asian Art Museum on the east side of the park. Even thou Seattle Art Museum and supporters think the fight is over... it is not! The expansion can still be stopped by our efforts. Last week our group was rather vocal at a meeting downtown in city hall in front of the Parks and Recreation Board. We were among other Seattle park groups who are also unhappy with what is happening in their community park by the Seattle City Government. We continue to send letters to Landmarks Preservation Board, who has yet to approve SAM’s proposal for expansion. One of the letters sent highlighted an insightful article Museum Expansions That Think Inside the Footprint from The New York Times, which precisely showcases the situation with our own Volunteer Park and the Asian Art Museum. The article states: "Arthur Cohen, chief executive of LaPlaca Cohen — a New York consulting firm that advises museums, including the Philadelphia Museum and the Frick, and other cultural institutions — suggested that museums were opting to grow within their own footprint now “because at this moment in time, the idea of a grand, flamboyant architectural gesture seems unseemly, quite tone-deaf.” “What seems really true to the moment is understanding the role of the museum in its community and its world,” he said. “It’s not how you make it grand and showy. It’s how can you most fully activate the space that exists in a way that can engage audiences of today and tomorrow.” The author concludes with:“I think museum boards and museum goers have become a little suspect about enormous sums of money being spent on new buildings, as opposed to collections or education,” she said. “The pendulum swinging away from new buildings is the result of several forces: what a museum is doing with its resources, and what is its responsibility to the larger community it serves.” Thank you for your help to protect our prized Volunteer Park from the AAM expansion. We are a progressive city that should understand how important preserving our landmarked park and landmarked building are and not be so quick to accept an expansion that does injustice to both of them when there are other options. In the upcoming weeks we will unveil more of our plans for stopping the SAAM expansion. Visit our new facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/protectvolunteerpark/?boosted_auto_open=BOOSTED_PAGE&ref=ads_after_party Thank you for your support, Protect Volunteer Park Team Members www.protectvolunteerpark.org www.thinkagainsaam.org