BENTONVILLE — Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art must protect its art collection against everything from theft to natural disasters, according to museum security experts and area emergency personnel.
The biggest advantage for the museum is that it’s new construction, said Michael Cross, security director for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
“Modern museum security has many physical layers. With new buildings, security aspects can be designed in and placed easily,” Cross said. “That’s a lot easier than trying to upgrade older structures. Cutting through marble to run a new camera cable is not fun.”
Risk management plans take into account many possible threats, from visitor safety to storage of hazardous materials, according to guidelines from the American Association of Museums. Museums do employee background checks, have fire and health inspections, and coordinate with local responders to develop emergency plans.
The security plan at Crystal Bridges relies on both guards and camera surveillance, said Geoff Goodrich, director of security for the museum.
The museum will station 20 security guards who wear the same uniforms as other museum staff in the galleries. They will monitor visitors and report any problems, Goodrich said.
The museum also will have patrol officers — eight inside and four on the grounds — who have basic training in security or law enforcement, conflict resolution and first aid, Goodrich said.
Finally, the museum has more than 200 cameras and other detection devices.
“We’re not high-profile, but we are high-tech,” Goodrich said. “There aren’t many of the classic steal-a-painting art thefts in the U.S., but our people will be ready for everything from theft or vandalism to medical emergencies or inclement weather evacuations.”
Most theft-related risks will be monitored by museum security, but Bentonville police will assist as needed, said Police Chief Jon Simpson.
“We don’t have detectives with backgrounds in art theft or art protection, but the museum will have those folks,” Simpson said. “Hopefully, we’ll never have to work a case with them.”
Bentonville fire officials are familiar with fire suppression measures at the museum, having consulted with designers about various systems, said Fire Chief Dan White.
“They thought ahead during the design. This place was built with absolutely state-of-the-art fire suppression,” White said. “The smoke alarms and heat sensors work with the sprinklers. If one sprinkler head detects heat, it can pop on by itself, rather than triggering the whole sprinkler system. At the same time, it sends a signal to increase the sensitivity of the other sprinkler heads in case they need to activate as well. Obviously, you don’t want to drench the whole place full of art if you don’t have to.”
Accessing the museum for a fire — or even flooding of the creek and water features that run through the museum site — could be complicated, so several plans have been developed, White said.
The museum’s radio system is tied into Bentonville’s police and fire radio systems so that various groups can communicate easily in an emergency, Goodrich said.
The multiple buildings at Crystal Bridges also present an unusual challenge, Cross said. The 201,000-square-foot museum includes two pavilions that span the creek, and more than 3 miles of trails through the campus.
“It really changes your models for security and for emergency response,” Cross said. “The challenge is the expanded footprint and the need for human and electronic coverage of a wider area.”
The biggest difference between Crystal Bridges and Nelson-Atkins is that Crystal Bridges is designed for people to enter the campus at a certain point, move from building to building, then exit at a given point, Cross said. Each building at Nelson-Atkins has its own entry and exit points that can be visited individually.
“The issue is less the number of buildings than it is the total number of access points,” Cross said. “Once you’ve covered the galleries themselves and the access points, the rest becomes pretty routine in terms of security.”