PORTLAND — Officials with the Museum of African Culture hope that a greater sense of permanence will come along with the deed if they raise enough money to buy part of the building where the museum operates.
“It will really mean everything for the museum and the community, to guarantee that the museum will be here and will stay here,” said Oscar Mokeme, the museum’s director.
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The Museum of African Culture, which was founded in 1998 in a building on Spring Street, has been on the ground floor of 13 Brown St. for about three years. The building’s owner wants to sell the property, Mokeme said, and offered the museum the office condominium it occupies for about $165,000.
An anonymous donor has offered to match each $10,000 raised by other donors, Mokeme said. By last week, about $22,000 had been raised — more than $40,000, with the donor’s match.
Mokeme said he didn’t have updated figures Tuesday.
The fundraising began in early April and will go through May, when museum officials will determine whether they need a mortgage for any remaining amount needed to buy the space.
Museum officials charge visitors $5 per person, and worry about covering the rent. Mokeme and Katie Martin, the museum’s acting president, said owning the space would give Mokeme more time to work on the museum’s offerings and programs.
“It’s the stability of knowing we can put down roots and we’re not focused just month-to-month on paying the rent,” Martin said. “It’s just so we can feel established, when we’ve felt kind of nomadic.”
Martin said the museum has wanted to expand its offerings, which include a range of African masks, bronze figures, textiles and other items, but has been constrained by the fact that the space is rented.
For instance, she said, there’s a back room where the museum could develop interactive exhibits for children, but officials were concerned about putting time and money into that effort when a sharp increase in rent could force a move.
Martin said the museum wants to stay where it is because the Brown Street location is in the heart of Portland’s arts district and has led to collaborations with students at the adjacent Maine College of Art.
Martin said it’s a difficult time for nonprofit institutions because of the economy, and launching a major fundraising effort now is even more challenging.
She said the museum has so far relied on “an incredibly loyal support base that’s generous beyond belief, but it’s also very small,” so a big part of the fundraising will be to seek out other potential donors.
That may have the side benefit of raising the museum’s visibility in the community, she said.
“I guarantee that many people don’t know that we exist,” Martin said.
If the museum can buy the space, she said, its supporters and staff could build on that higher profile.
“It will allow Oscar to focus on programs and bring the community into the space more and let us think about what other investments we can make in the space to be an even greater draw,” she said.
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at: emurphy@pressherald.com
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