General Impressions
You do not need a website to tell you that museums are racist and have excluded BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals from their conception. According to a 2019 study conducted by the Public Library of Science, 85% of artists in U.S. art museums’ permanent collections are White and 87% of those artists are men. 2020 Census data reports that only 57.8% of the U.S. population is White, while 50.52% of the population identifies as female. So why is there a lack of representation of BIPOCs and women in art museums? The answer is simple: the history of the United States favors White males and our art museums reflect this, which is why they are seen as ‘white sanctuaries.’ In the wake of the Black Lives Matter Movement, attention has turned to our art institutions and their history of exclusion. Now more than ever, people are not afraid to call out art museums and highlight instances of racism within the walls of these buildings– and this is where this website comes into play.
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Before getting into the specifics of what I observed in the art museums, I want to start off with some of my general impressions. Prior to conducting site visits, I selected four art museums (Museums A, B, C, and D) in New York City and searched the internet to see what was being said about them, as well as looking at their websites for their mission statements and values, staff, exhibitions, and outreach programs. From this, I found that all four museums claim to be committed to the values of diversity and inclusion through supporting and uplifting voices from individuals of different backgrounds; however, the Board of Trustees that oversee and call the shots for these museums were (unsurprisingly) majority White. In addition to this, all four museums have had racist incidents among the staff, as well as controversies surrounding certain actions taken by the museums. In the face of these incidents and controversies, these museums claim to implement programs to increase diversity and inclusion efforts yet these programs barely come to fruition– a classic all talk-no action situation.
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While completing my site visits, the biggest thing I noticed was that the majority of the four museums displayed works by a diverse group of artists (race- and ethnicity-wise) and many of these artworks even came from these museums’ permanent collections. So my question is: where is the disconnect? At these museums I saw works created by an Ethiopian artist, a Palestinian artist, a Mexican artist, a Chinese artist, and an artist who belonged to two Indigenous groups native to Canada, among many other artists from various countries and regions. Despite this, these museums cannot seem to get it right when it comes to addressing and resolving racist incidents and controversies within their institutions. The most simple answer to my question may be money: the driving force behind these museums are in the hands of the Board of Trustees, who, as mentioned, are made up mostly of White individuals. Even if this is the main reason for the disconnect, it should not be the case.
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On a bit of a more positive note, the museums I chose do have a number of outreach programs for all individuals. Museums A, B, and C all have youth programs and school partnerships to increase the involvement of youth in the arts, especially children and teens living in underserved areas. Museum D has a number of accessibility programs and Museum B even offers tours in a range of different languages for immigrant families. Through their outreach programs, these museums are attempting to be more inclusive. It is encouraging to see that these museums are actively making these efforts and hopefully this will be something that translates into the way these institutions act going forward.
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This was only a small snippet of what I viewed while I was at these museums, so be sure to check out the other topics for more information and analysis!