From zero to big business in 60 days

Starting a business from scratch is no easy task. But getting a world-class museum administratively ready for opening in a few short months is seemingly insurmountable.

While most businesses start out smaller with decisions made accordingly, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas, had to go from zero to big business in 60 days.

"It was like starting a big business from scratch with no policies, procedures or vendors," says Lista Hightower, director of finance for the center. She started at the center on Aug. 18, 2003, and didn't move into the gallery until one month before its Oct. 20 opening.

"This was a classic case of what comes first, the chicken or egg. So many things had to be done. We needed computers, so we researched and purchased computers. If we had to send something by courier, we had to research a courier service.

"Everyone was on a steep learning curve and we added gradually to the things we needed. We broke the tasks down into whatever we needed to get the building open first; then whatever was needed to get art here safely, installed and ready for public viewing; and finally what was necessary to open the museum to the public," says Hightower.

And it worked because The Nasher Sculpture Center—dedicated to contemporary and modern sculpture and based on the private collection of Raymond D. Nasher and his late wife, Patsy—welcomed 7,650 visitors on its first day.

"It's a very exciting place to be right now," explains Hightower. "Every day we come to work and there are a million substantive things to do. Sometimes it's simply nitpicking over details, but all these things are important."

For example, Hightower needed to order check stock that incorporated the museum's logo and looked aesthetically complementary to the museum, with limited options that would work with financial software.

Designed by architect Renzo Piano of Italy and landscape architect Peter Walker, the entire 55,000-square-foot facility includes the gallery, auditorium, offices and café and museum store. Situated in downtown Dallas at the base of the city's skyline, the Nasher Sculpture Center represents Nasher's vision to create an outdoor "roof-less" museum that serves as a public home for his collection. Spanning an entire city block, the front third of the land is the building and the back two thirds is a garden for exhibiting outdoor sculpture.

Nasher, 82, paid for the entire center. Hightower explains that the museum has corporate sponsors for exhibitions and is beginning to fundraise, but Nasher, one of the first real estate developers in the United States, continues to fund the museum. He built his first retail shopping center, NorthPark Center, in 1965 and made a commitment to display his art in his development projects. He is chairman of The Nasher Foundation and of Comerica Bank-Texas.

Working within the building itself is like working in a piece of art, says Hightower. The architects and builders had major design limitations—shoehorning administrative operations into the building was a great challenge.

For example, cash registers at the ticketing and admissions counters were installed two days before the museum opened. The admissions ticketing area would not accommodate an employee who was in a wheelchair because the cash drawers were four inches. "So we were able to get the three-inch cash registers in time for opening. Every day we would face a problem, solve it and then move on," she says.

"We run a lot of different businesses in one. We exhibit art, have an education program, offer membership and member benefits, operate a museum store, offer tours and employ teams of docents and volunteers all in this one place. It's exciting and challenging to make it work."

The museum itself has been very well received both in the United States and internationally. "No other museum is dedicated solely to sculpture. Mr. Nasher had opportunities to have his sculpture exhibited in other cities. Dallas is fortunate to have him keep it here," says Hightower. e

The Nasher Sculpture Center is a client of Leading Edge accounting firm Lane, Gorman Trubitt in Dallas. The firm has assisted the museum with selecting software, certain personnel and conducting audit work.