Sandra Jackson-Dumont on Transforming Museum Culture for Survival
Sandra Jackson-Dumont, director and CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, argues that museums must transform their internal cultures to remain relevant. Drawing on her career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Studio Museum in Harlem, and Whitney Museum of American Art, she emphasizes that change requires addressing structural inequities in pay, promotion, and caregiving. She advocates for clear compensation frameworks, honest feedback, and operational models that support staff's full lives. On AI, she sees potential for streamlining administrative tasks but warns against bias and erosion of authorship, urging institutions to pair technology with critical thinking and ethics. Jackson-Dumont calls for scenario planning to anticipate long-term implications, insisting AI should support, not replace, human judgment.
Key facts
- Sandra Jackson-Dumont is director and CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
- She previously worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Studio Museum in Harlem, and Whitney Museum of American Art.
- She argues museums must transform internal culture to avoid obsolescence.
- She advocates for clear compensation frameworks and honest feedback.
- She notes women often take pay cuts first during financial constraints.
- She supports operational models that accommodate caregiving responsibilities.
- She sees AI as useful for administrative tasks but warns against bias and erosion of authorship.
- She urges pairing technological adoption with critical thinking and ethics.
Entities
Institutions
- Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Studio Museum in Harlem
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Artnet
- Association of Women in the Arts
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Serpentine South Gallery
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Barbican Centre
Locations
- New York
- Boston
- London
- England