American Museums' Controversial Response to Black Lives Matter
In the wake of George Floyd's death and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, American museums encountered backlash for their insincere expressions of support. Initially, the Getty Museum released a vague statement, later mentioning Floyd but omitting BLM. Critics pointed out that 70% of the Getty's workforce is white. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art disabled comments on a post featuring Glenn Ligon after calls for more detailed responses. The Metropolitan Museum of Art faced criticism for using Ligon's artwork without authorization. While MoMA acknowledged victims of police violence and anti-racist groups, MoMA PS1 expressed solidarity with protesters. The New Museum boarded up its entrance yet recognized institutional racism. A study from Williams College revealed that 85.4% of artworks in leading US museums are created by white artists.
Key facts
- Getty Museum initially posted a generic statement without naming George Floyd or Black Lives Matter.
- Getty has 70% white staff; Black employees are mostly in security.
- SFMOMA posted a Glenn Ligon work but blocked comments after criticism.
- Metropolitan Museum used Glenn Ligon's work without his permission; Ligon complained on Instagram.
- Met president Daniel Weiss and director Max Hollein committed to diversifying staff.
- MoMA posted works by David Hammons and Jacob Lawrence, then added explicit references to victims.
- MoMA PS1 provided water, snacks, and restrooms to protesters.
- New Museum boarded up but admitted institutional complicity in systemic racism.
- Williams College study: 85.4% of works in major US museums are by white artists, 1.2% by African Americans.
- 2018 Mellon Foundation survey: 16% of curators and 26% of educators in 332 museums were people of color.
Entities
Artists
- Glenn Ligon
- David Hammons
- Jacob Lawrence
- Adam Pendleton
- Derrick Adams
- Banksy
- Marcus Samuelsson
Institutions
- Getty Museum
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- MoMA
- MoMA PS1
- Brooklyn Museum
- New Museum
- Williams College
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
- Association of Art Museum Directors
- American Alliance of Museums
- Art News
- Artribune
Locations
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- New York
- Brooklyn
- Queens
- Massachusetts
- United States