In the Arts: Layoffs at Conn. Theater, Art Institute of Chicago

Layoffs continue in the arts world, with the Tony award-winning Long Wharf Theatre, in New Haven, Conn., letting go about 10 percent of its full-time workers (between 40 and 50 employees), according to The Hartford Courant.

The theater is also slashing its budget for the 2010 fiscal year by 16 percent following drops in donations and its endowment. Other cost-cutting measures will include salary reductions of 1 to 4.5 percent.

In other arts news:

• The Art Institute of Chicago announced that it has let go 22 employees, or 3 percent of its staff, according to the Chicago Tribune.

• The Long Beach Museum of Art, in Calif., facing full payment in September on $3-million in bond debt, is under pressure from the city government to settle its debt or face a city takeover and the sale of some of its more prized artworks, according to the Los Angeles Times. Such a sale would go against the code of ethics established by the American Association of Museums. But the city, facing a budget gap of roughly $20-million, is pushing the option. “We’re fighting tooth and nail against a hostile takeover,” said Ron Nelson, the museum’s executive director.

• The Utah Festival Opera Company, in Logan, is asking for $655,000 in grants from Cache County coffers or it may need to cancel its 2010 season, according to the Associated Press.

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