A Somerville institution with close ties to Tufts is under financial strain despite extensive community support in recent months.
The Somerville Museum on Westwood Road has launched a campaign to collect $105,000 to repair a damaged roof that continues to plague the museum with leaks, which threaten the exhibits inside.
"This problem started years ago," Director of Exhibitions Michael O'Connell said of the antique copper-and-slate roof, which the museum has repeatedly had to patch up and salvage to protect from the rain.
"It finally got to the point where we realized this wasn't something we were going to be able to fix on our own," O'Connell said.
The museum has turned to outside sources from the surrounding area for help paying for the repairs, which would include sealing off the leaks in the roof, strengthening windows, providing insulation and repairing the wooden gutters.
The fundraising effort has been greatly fueled by the generosity of local Somerville residents, as well as organizations like the Somerville Senior Center and the Welcome Project.
Recently, the museum experienced a major breakthrough by receiving a sizable grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund and the MassDevelopment Corporation.
"We are so fortunate to have received this grant," Museum Director Evelyn Battinelli said, explaining that the museum has had only modest success with previous grant requests.
Professor and Chair of Anthropology Department David Guss helped create "The Lost Theatres of Somerville," an exhibition displaying the various movie theaters that have existed throughout the history of Somerville.
Both Battinelli and O'Connell agreed that this was one of the most popular and well received of all their recent showcases and were thankful for Guss' contributions to their cause.
"This museum is one of the most extraordinary cultural gems that exist in the city," Guss said. "It's a place where our community can really gather together. Tufts has benefited tremendously from having them as a partner."
While O'Connell believed that his museum's small-scale status allows locals to easily sympathize with its cause, it also puts them at a fundraising disadvantage.
O'Connell said that while a larger institution like the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) would for a similar project be able to "raise in the millions," the Somerville Museum is "stuck on a different shelf," thinking "in terms of thousands."
Largely through outside donations, the museum has now come within striking distance of covering the $105,000 in matching funds necessary to complete the repair project.
Once the problem with the roof is resolved, the museum will be able to shift its focus back to other important causes, including the maintenance of its ongoing curatorial program. O'Connell said that he has worked with a number of students through this program.
"[P]eople who have never done an exhibit before [are able] … to walk in off the street … and share the knowledge that they have," O'Connell said. This allows the museum to ensure that it maintains its close contact with the rest of the Somerville community, he said.
Past exhibitions have analyzed divisions that arose in the city during, for example, the Vietnam War and the construction of the I-93 interstate highway.
One community favorite was an exhibition honoring George Dilboy, a Somerville resident who fought and died in World War I and posthumously became the first Greek-American ever to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded in the United States.
The museum has accepted several contributions from Somerville High School, among other institutes, as well as a considerable number from Tufts.
"We have always had a good relationship with Tufts," Battinelli said. The museum has developed alongside our school for decades, and their relationship has continued to thrive in recent years, thanks to the efforts of several key individuals.
Graduate students at Tufts have made their contributions to the museum as well. One standout example was "From Yucuaiquin to Somerville," an exhibition by former Tufts student Sebastian Chaskel that outlined the fortunes that the mountain people of El Salvador have had in relocating to East Somerville.
Many graduate students continue to team up with the Somerville Museum on ongoing projects. O'Connell claims that the museum is "very open" in this respect and encourages the Tufts student body to bring their ideas to the table.
"It brings so much freshness to each exhibition," Battinelli said of student contributions to the museum. "It's an amazing, amazing undertaking."
The close-to-home feel of the museum and its exhibitions, as well as its connection with the community in general, has certainly paid off. The institute has been able to come within $15,000 of covering the funds it needs for repairs and hopes that its continued community outreach will be able to finally seal the deal.
O'Connell said he is thankful that his city's people have responded to their cause so soundly.
"We've received a tremendous amount of community support," he said, reflecting on the fundraising project. "It's almost heartbreaking. It really gives you a warm feeling to be the recipient of all that."
