US Museums Face Reckoning on Systemic Racism

A 2019 Williams College study found 85.4% of artists in 18 major US museums are white, with only 1.2% Black and 2.8% Hispanic. Following Black Lives Matter protests, museums issued statements but faced criticism. The Whitney Museum canceled 'Collective Actions' after artists objected to its selection process. The New Museum announced 'Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America,' curated by the late Okwui Enwezor, featuring 37 artists including Nari Ward. Simone Leigh will represent the US at the next Venice Biennale, the first Black woman to do so. A 2019 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation study of 332 museums found 88% of leadership, 84% of curatorial, and 89% of conservation roles held by whites. Diversity hires are often in low-paid education departments. Groups like For the Culture and Artists for Workers have formed to denounce racism. At the Brooklyn Museum, an anonymous report revealed a $15,000 salary gap between a white and a Black curator. Artists for Workers projected slogans on the Guggenheim, which faced criticism from Chaédria LaBouvier, the first Black woman to curate a show there. Chief curator Nancy Spector resigned after an investigation found no evidence of racial discrimination. Four museums postponed a Philip Guston retrospective to 2024 due to KKK imagery, drawing criticism from 100 artists and scholars. Photographer Nona Faustine creates works addressing slavery's erasure from national monuments.