Rumors of the closure of the gift shop at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art have been circulating among its members and donors after Museum Director Amada Cruz sent an email in late November explaining that the shop was being “right-sized” into a smaller space near the entry plaza.
“The Museum Store, while an appreciated visitor amenity, has consistently operated with a deficit, putting pressure on the annual budget,” Cruz wrote.
Instead, the space will be converted for educational programs, Cruz said, tripling the space available at the museum. Most of the museum’s art classes and workshops are held at the Ridley-Tree Education Center at the McCormick House up on Santa Barbara and Arrellaga streets. It is closing for repairs, said Katrina Carl, communications director, the extent of which are currently unknown. Since 2017, an apartment at the site has also hosted visiting artists, including Valeska Soares, Charles Long, and writers Richard Rodriguez and Jane Smiley.
“We are constantly challenged to provide adequate space for all our educational activities as they have become more popular,” Cruz wrote in the email. And, “education is at the very core of our mission to make the Museum accessible to all.”
Programs like Family 1st Thursday and Studio Sundays will continue uninterrupted, and the gift shop remains open through mid-January. After that, the storefront reopens in spring 2025 as an education center, with art classes, workshops, and art-making activities on State Street.
