VMFA Art Complaints
| Submitted | Oct. 12, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Tom Nash
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
- All complaints received about artwork on view in the museum between Jan 1., 2016 and the time this request is processed.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Tom Nash
From: Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts
Dear Mr. Nash -
We are in receipt of your request for records made in accordance with the
Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.). We are not
required to answer FOIA requests that are made by citizens outside of the
Commonwealth of Virginia. The only contact information provided in your
request is for an address in Somerville, Massachusetts. If you can please
provide me with a mailing address in Virginia, we can begin to gather the
documents that are responsive to your request.
Best regards -
Courtney
*Courtney Tkacz*
*ArchivistVirginia Museum of Fine ArtsMargaret R. and Robert M. Freeman
Library*
200 N. Boulevard | Richmond, VA 23220
From: Tom Nash
Hi Courtney,
My residence is 1100 Carrolton St. Richmond, VA 23221.
Thank you.
From: Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts
Dear Mr. Nash -
Thank you for providing a Virginia address. We will begin gathering the
responsive documents and will share those with you before COB on Friday,
October 19.
Best regards -
Courtney
*Courtney Tkacz*
*ArchivistVirginia Museum of Fine ArtsMargaret R. and Robert M. Freeman
Library*
200 N. Boulevard | Richmond, VA 23220
From: Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts
Dear Mr. Nash -
We have located all records in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ custody
that are responsive to your request under the Virginia Freedom of
Information Act (“FOIA”) (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.). The only information that
has been withheld is personally identifying information of the
complainants. You requested, in electronic form, "all complaints received
about artwork on view in the museum between Jan 1., 2016 and the time this
request is processed." The responsive records, which are attached to this
email in XLS form, include:
-Entries from the Visitor Services' customer comments database
Please note that in addition to the Visitor Services' records we have
provided to you, we contacted managers in the Curatorial and Marketing
departments to ensure there were no additional records documenting
complaints about artworks on view that they received directly.
Sincerely -
*Courtney Tkacz*
*ArchivistVirginia Museum of Fine ArtsMargaret R. and Robert M. Freeman
Library*
200 N. Boulevard | Richmond, VA 23220
From: Tom Nash
Thank you so much for compiling these. Just for clarity, are these phone calls that came in or are they submitted by folks online?
From: Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts
Hello -
The comments come in many forms - phone calls, comment cards, online,
in-person. Sometimes the staff member recording the comment will detail how
they received the comment in the "staff notes" field, but not always. I
checked back on the complaints we shared with you and that field did not
provide any further details.
Thank you -
Courtney
*Courtney Tkacz*
*ArchivistVirginia Museum of Fine ArtsMargaret R. and Robert M. Freeman
Library*
200 N. Boulevard | Richmond, VA 23220