Five employees of the National Museum of African Art are terminated.

The National Museum of African Art, a branch of the Smithsonian in Washington DC, has terminated five staff members for budget reasons. According to the Washington Post, the Museum Director, Sharon Patton, notified those affected by the action on June 23. There will be 32 full time employees remaining at the museum, which had 165,000 visitors in 2004.

Director Patton explained her actions as being motivated by the desire to reorganize the Museum with programs for education, innovative exhibitions, increased visitation and outreach to the community at the same time that budget constraints have limited the Museum operations.

Patton further explained that the funds resulting from the terminated salaries might be used to add an associate director, with more emphasis on contemporary African art, and a development director to generate more financial backing.

This story was sourced from material in the Washington Post on Saturday, July 9, 2005.

African art represents a substantial part of the offerings by Aboriginals: Art of the First Person at http://www.tribalworks.com

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