Officials at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Los Angeles, have been discussing potential mergers or partnerships with other institutions to help it out of the financial crisis it faces, reports The New York Times.

Among the potential partners are the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Broad Art Foundation, and the University of Southern California, the newspaper reports. The museum has dipped into its endowment several times to pay for operations, and the endowment has now fallen below $10-million. The museum is planning to cut its budget and temporarily close one of its exhibition spaces.

The philanthropist Eli Broad, a founding chairman of the museum, tells the Times: “Our view and that of our foundation is, it should remain an independent institution. Clearly, the budget’s going to have to be reduced. And they are going to have to raise money and beef up the endowment. We want to help them do that.”

An article in the Los Angeles Times quotes California arts leaders and public officials who want to see the museum saved.

And an artist’s Facebook page in support of the institution has attracted more than 220 members.

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