The Ehh.

working at the contemporary museum has been quite a delight ever since i started volunteering a little over a month ago, but just yesterday, i stumbled upon some news that left me in utter shock. by now i have become acquainted with a number of people who are wonderful to be around and have had some interesting conversations with. i found out yesterday, however, that of the 36 permanent staff members, 22 were laid off last friday. due to hard times, i suppose the museum was forced to take drastic action in order to survive. they have even canceled their next exhibit. as an aspiring gallerina, i found this quite disconcerting. i started to think about why this could be happening. if you've ever been to the contemporary museum, on the beautiful hills of makiki heights, it is surely a wonder why prestigeous place could be in danger of forclosure. i have, over the past few weeks, been observing the museum clientelle, and i have come to realize that the museum has yet to tap into a vast resource: the 21-30 year olds. most of the visitors are older folks or tourists, and any special events that they do have are geared either towards young children or museum members, but i have yet to hear about events dedicated to the young men and women of our our (my) generation. i can think of a horde of names that would love to attend an early evening suwaray strolling the lush grounds, sipping on cocktails. the evidence of this can be seen on every first friday of the month: chinatown's artwalk. loads of people parusing the streets, looking for fun and festivity. it just makes me think that maybe sometimes galleries need young people to spice things up and make a little money.