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Timeline

    1. December 2021

      1. MOCA Los Angeles employees still negotiating first contract with museum leaders after unionizing two years ago Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2

    2. November 2021

      1. Founding of MFA Boston Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. Departure of Whitney Museum's Curator Christopher Y. Lew Departure, Staff External Link 1

    3. October 2021

      1. Founding of Baltimore Museum of Art Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. Report: Cultural institutions took federal money but still let go of workers COVID-19, Staff External Link 1

    4. September 2021

      1. Departure of MOCA Los Angeles Director Klaus Bisenbach Departure, Museum Directors, Staff External Link 1

    5. August 2021

      1. Founding of Brooklyn Museum Union Local 2110 Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. Departure of MFA Boston's Chief of Learning and Community Engagement Makeeba McCreary Departure, Retention, Staff External Link 1
      3. Founding of Whitney Museum Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      4. Departure of Barbican's Managing Director Nicholas Kenyon Departure, Discrimination, Staff External Link 1

    6. July 2021

      1. Departure of Palm Springs Art Museum's Curator Rochelle Steiner Departure, Staff External Link 1

    7. April 2021

      1. Founding MASS MoCA Union Local 2110 Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. Op-ed: LaTanya S. Autry A Black Curator Imagines Otherwise Departure, Staff External Link 1
      3. Departure of MOCA Los Angeles Senior Curator Mia Locks Departure, Staff External Link 1
      4. Departure of Wadsworth's CEO Tom Loughman Departure, Staff External Link 1

    8. March 2021

      1. Departure of Bellevue Arts Museum Executive Director Benedict Heywood Departure, Staff External Link 1
      2. Artists pull out of Chicago MCA Exhibition in Protest of Worker Layoffs Artist-Driven Activism, Protest, Staff External Link 1 External Link 2

    9. February 2021

      1. Departure of MOCA Los Angeles Human Resources Director Carlos Viramontes Departure, Staff External Link 1
      2. First Collective Bargaining Agreement with IUOE Local 30 Guggenheim Workers Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      3. Cultural Workers address Indianapolis Museum of Art job posting controversy Controversy, Racism, Staff External Link 1
      4. Departure of SFMOMA's Director Neal Benezra Departure, Museum Directors, Staff External Link 1
      5. Metropolitan Museum of Art considers deaccessioning part of their collection to gather funds for care of their collection due to COVID-19 challenges. Museum Collections, Staff External Link 1
      6. Departure of Carnegie Museum of Art's Deputy Director Ronald Lee Newman Departure, Staff External Link 1

    10. January 2021

      1. Departure of MCA Chicago's Chief Curator Michael Darling Departure, Staff External Link 1

    1. December 2020

      1. Museum Workers from Portland Museum of Art vote for a Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. Departure of Peabody Essex Museum's Director Brian P. Kennedy Departure, Staff External Link 1
      3. Founding of United Museum Workers Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      4. Founding of Walker Worker Union (AFSCME) Staff, Unions External Link 1
      5. Departure of SITE Santa Fe's Director Irene Hofmann Departure, Staff External Link 1

    2. November 2020

      1. Departure of Standford's Cantor Arts Center's Director Susan Dackerman Departure, Museum Directors, Staff External Link 1
      2. Founding of Milwaukee Art Museum IAMAW United Lodge 66 Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      3. Ithaka S+R Art Museum Director Survey 2020 Internal Strategy, Museum Directors, Staff External Link 1

    3. October 2020

      1. Departure of PAFA (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art) President and CEO David Brigham Departure, Staff External Link 1
      2. Departure of Guggenheim's Deputy Director and Chief Curator Nancy Spector Controversy, Departure, Staff External Link 1

    4. September 2020

      1. Museum Workers from Portland Museum of Art in Portland petititon for a Union election Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. Departure of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts's Director Nathalie Bondil Departure, Staff External Link 1

    5. August 2020

      1. Founding of Philadelphia Museum of Art AFSCME DC 47 Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2

    6. July 2020

      1. Departure of MOCA Detroit's Director Elysia Borowy-Reeder Departure, Museum Directors, Staff External Link 1
      2. Marciano Foundation pays laid-off workers 10 weeks of severance as part of settlement Staff, Unions External Link 1
      3. Departure of Newfields Curator Kelli Morgan Departure, Staff External Link 1
      4. Departure of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Chief Curator Gary Garrels Departure, Staff External Link 1

    7. June 2020

      1. Op-ed: Kelli Morgan "To Bear Witness: Real Talk about White Supremacy in Art Museums Today" Racism, Staff, White Supremacy External Link 1
      2. SFMOMA Staffers Condemn ‘Racist Censorship’ and Institutional Inequities in Letter Calling for Change Racism, Staff, White Supremacy External Link 1
      3. Departure of MOCA Cleveland's Director Jill Snyder Departure, Staff External Link 1
      4. Public Letter: Andrea Montiel de Shuman "No longer in extremis." Racism, Resignation, Staff, White Supremacy External Link 1
      5. Departure of Norton Museum of Art Director Elliot Bostwick Davis Departure, Staff External Link 1
      6. Founding of Cultural New Deal Racism, Staff External Link 1 External Link 2
      7. Founding of A Better Guggenheim Equity, Staff External Link 1
      8. Open letters from BIPOC staff and allies at SFMOMA, Guggenheim, Brooklyn, MFA Boston, etc. Open letter, Racism, Staff External Link 1 External Link 2
      9. Launch of Change The Museum (@changethemuseum Instagram account) Racism, Staff, White Supremacy External Link 1

    8. May 2020

      1. Departure of Parrish Art Museum's Director Terrie Sultan Departure, Museum Directors, Staff External Link 1
      2. Departure of Telfair Museum's Director Robin Nicholson Departure, Staff External Link 1
      3. Departure of Akron Art Museum Director Mark Masuoka Departure, Discrimination, Harassment, Staff External Link 1
      4. Launch of Museum Workers Relief Fund Staff External Link 1

    9. April 2020

      1. Indebted Cultural Workers Share Spreadsheet Highlighting Major Income Disparities at Cultural Institutions Equity, Staff External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. "Artists, Scholars, and Museum Workers Petition Museums to Retain Staff During Pandemic" Equity, Staff External Link 1 External Link 2
      3. US Museums allowed to use restricted funds for operational costs Deaccessioning, Museum Collections, Staff External Link 1
      4. Museum Endowments are reassessed after closures and layoffs Equity, Staff External Link 1
      5. Founding of Indebted Cultural Workers Equity, Staff External Link 1

    10. March 2020

      1. "A Daily Report on How COVID-19 Is Impacting the Art World" Equity, Staff External Link 1

    11. February 2020

      1. Departure of Cooper Hewitt's Director Caroline Baumann Departure, Staff External Link 1