Addison Gallery cuts budget

The Addison Gallery at Phillips Academy in Andover is cutting its budget by two percent “like every other department” at the school, Addison Director Brian Allen announced Thursday in a report on how the down economy is affecting the institution.

“I think the economic downturn will be deep and will last quite a long time,” Allen writes. “The staff and I here at the Gallery will look not only at reductions allowing us to comply with the 2 percent guideline set by the school, but we will also look at everything we do with the belief that changes we make now will prevent more painful changes later. … The Addison will weather this storm.”

Allen foresees a drop in the Addison’s endowment, which provides 55 percent of the institution’s revenue. The museum, he writes, likely also faces declines in financial donations, both for its annual income and its $30 million renovation, expansion and endowment project ($8.5 million still need to be raised to meet the goal).