Christopher Bedford Appointed Director of SFMOMA, Bringing Progressive Leadership from Baltimore Museum of Art

Christopher Bedford will assume leadership of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in June 2022, replacing Neal Benezra who announced his departure in February 2021. Bedford comes from the Baltimore Art Museum where he served as director for six years, gaining recognition for controversial collection strategies aimed at increasing diversity. In 2016, he deaccessioned works by white male artists to acquire pieces by women and artists of color, and in 2020 committed to showing and acquiring only works by women for the entire year. Bedford praised SFMOMA's 'commitments to equity and artistic scholarship' and expressed eagerness to collaborate with leadership and staff. His appointment follows a period of institutional turmoil at SFMOMA, including the 2020 resignation of senior curator Gary Garrels after offensive comments and controversy over the deletion of a comment by former Black staff member Taylor Brandon during BLM protests. Benezra apologized for the latter incident but stated that controversies did not influence his decision to step down. Bedford's progressive reputation was built through his management of BAM's collection, positioning him as a risk-taking leader who will now guide an institution recently facing multiple allegations of racism.