Timeline
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February 2024
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After three weeks, MASS MoCA strike ends as union workers, management agree to two-year contract
Strike, Unions
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MoMA PS1 Workers Urge Director Connie Butler to “Settle a Fair Contract”
Museum Directors, Unions
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Adrienne Edwards Appointed Senior Curator and Associate Director of Curatorial Programming at the Whitney Museum
Staff
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Minneapolis Institute of Art Staffers Allege Toxic Work Environment
Protest, Staff, Unions
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Marilyn Jackson Named the New President and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums
Leadership, Museum Directors
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Oakland Museum Union Announced Amid a National Wave of Museum Organizing
Unions
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Portland Museum of Art to Cut 13 Positions, Citing Pandemic Fallout
Staff
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Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Workers Announce Union Campaign
Unions
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Protesters Take to MoMA, Demanding Museum Drop Its Board Chair
Boards / Trustees, Free Palestine Movement, Protest
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MoMA Promotes Michelle Kuo to Chief Curator at Large and Publisher
Staff
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Anti-Zionist Protesters Crash Event at NYC’s Jewish Museum
Free Palestine Movement, Protest
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Open Letter: MoMA Employees Regarding the Ongoing Crisis in Palestine
Free Palestine Movement, Open letter
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ArtTable Survey Sheds Light on Hardships Faced by Arts Workers of Color
Data, Racial Injustice, Survey
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Newfields' handling of CEO's exit is 'an unforced error' eroding public trust, experts say
Departure, Museum Directors
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Ongoing Dispute Over Contract Enforcement at PMA
Pay / Compensation, Unions
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December 2021
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"Virginia's Massive Robert E. Lee Statue Has Been Removed"
Monuments, Protest
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MOCA Los Angeles employees still negotiating first contract with museum leaders after unionizing two years ago
Staff, Unions
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September 2021
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Departure of MOCA Los Angeles Director Klaus Bisenbach
Departure, Museum Directors, Staff
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July 2021
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Departure of Philadelphia Museum of Art's Director and CEO Timothy Rub
Departure, Museum Directors
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Departure of the Phillips Collection's Director and CEO's Dorothy Kosinski
Departure, Museum Directors
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Departure of Palm Springs Art Museum's Curator Rochelle Steiner
Departure, Staff
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June 2021
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Departure of Phoenix Art Museum's Director Tim Rodgers
Departure, Museum Directors
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Berlin Museum Board to Negotiate Return of Benin Bronzes
Repatriation
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Departure of Memphis Brooks Museum of Art's Director Emily Ballew Neff
Departure, Museum Directors
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May 2021
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Departure of PAFA's Director Brooke Davis Anderson
Departure, Museum Directors
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Departure of Winterthur Museum's Director and CEO Carol B. Cadou
Departure, Museum Directors
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March 2021
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Departure of MoMA Chairman Leon Black
Boards / Trustees, Museum
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Departure of Bellevue Arts Museum Executive Director Benedict Heywood
Departure, Staff
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Atlanta spa shootings
Anti-Asian Hate, Mass Shooting, Racism
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Artists pull out of Chicago MCA Exhibition in Protest of Worker Layoffs
Artist-Driven Activism, Protest, Staff
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February 2021
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Baltimore Museum of Art receives $1M for equity initiatives
Diversity, Exhibitions, Museum Collections
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Departure of MOCA Los Angeles Human Resources Director Carlos Viramontes
Departure, Staff
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Departure of Newfield's Director and CEO Charles Venable
Departure, Museum Directors
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First Collective Bargaining Agreement with IUOE Local 30 Guggenheim Workers Union
Staff, Unions
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Cultural Workers address Indianapolis Museum of Art job posting controversy
Controversy, Racism, Staff
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Departure of SFMOMA's Director Neal Benezra
Departure, Museum Directors, Staff
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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
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Departure of Carnegie Museum of Art's Deputy Director Ronald Lee Newman
Departure, Staff
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January 2021
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Departure of MCA Chicago's Chief Curator Michael Darling
Departure, Staff
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Naomi Beckwith Named Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Guggenheim Museum
Leadership, Museum Directors
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Time's Up Museums changes its name to Museums Moving Forward
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November 2020
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Departure of Standford's Cantor Arts Center's Director Susan Dackerman
Departure, Museum Directors, Staff
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Founding of Milwaukee Art Museum IAMAW United Lodge 66 Union
Staff, Unions
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External Link 2
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Ithaka S+R Art Museum Director Survey 2020
Internal Strategy, Museum Directors, Staff
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October 2020
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Balitmore Museum of Art suspends deaccession plan
Diversity, Exhibitions, Museum Collections
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Departure of PAFA (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art) President and CEO David Brigham
Departure, Staff
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Founding of Black Trustee Alliance
Boards / Trustees, Museum Advocacy, Museum Boards
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Baltimore Museum of Art Curators address deaccession plan
Diversity, Exhibitions, Museum Collections
External Link 1
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Departure of Guggenheim's Deputy Director and Chief Curator Nancy Spector
Controversy, Departure, Staff
External Link 1
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September 2020
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Philip Guston exhibition postponed
Controversy, Museum
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Museum Workers from Portland Museum of Art in Portland petititon for a Union election
Staff, Unions
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Departure of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts's Director Nathalie Bondil
Departure, Staff
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July 2020
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Departure of MOCA Detroit's Director Elysia Borowy-Reeder
Departure, Museum Directors, Staff
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Marciano Foundation pays laid-off workers 10 weeks of severance as part of settlement
Staff, Unions
External Link 1
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Departure of Newfields Curator Kelli Morgan
Departure, Staff
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Departure of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Chief Curator Gary Garrels
Departure, Staff
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June 2020
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Op-ed: Kelli Morgan "To Bear Witness: Real Talk about White Supremacy in Art Museums Today"
Racism, Staff, White Supremacy
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SFMOMA Staffers Condemn ‘Racist Censorship’ and Institutional Inequities in Letter Calling for Change
Racism, Staff, White Supremacy
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Departure of MOCA Cleveland's Director Jill Snyder
Departure, Staff
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Public Letter: Andrea Montiel de Shuman "No longer in extremis."
Racism, Resignation, Staff, White Supremacy
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Departure of Norton Museum of Art Director Elliot Bostwick Davis
Departure, Staff
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Founding of A Better Guggenheim
Equity, Staff
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Launch of Change The Museum (@changethemuseum Instagram account)
Racism, Staff, White Supremacy
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Open letters from BIPOC staff and allies at SFMOMA, Guggenheim, Brooklyn, MFA Boston, etc.
Open letter, Racism, Staff
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Founding of Cultural New Deal
Racism, Staff
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May 2020
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Departure of Parrish Art Museum's Director Terrie Sultan
Departure, Museum Directors, Staff
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Murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis
Broader Culture, Racism
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Departure of Telfair Museum's Director Robin Nicholson
Departure, Staff
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Departure of Akron Art Museum Director Mark Masuoka
Departure, Discrimination, Harassment, Staff
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Launch of Museum Workers Relief Fund
Staff
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April 2020
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Indebted Cultural Workers Share Spreadsheet Highlighting Major Income Disparities at Cultural Institutions
Equity, Staff
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"Artists, Scholars, and Museum Workers Petition Museums to Retain Staff During Pandemic"
Equity, Staff
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US Museums allowed to use restricted funds for operational costs
Deaccessioning, Museum Collections, Staff
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Museum Endowments are reassessed after closures and layoffs
Equity, Staff
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Founding of Indebted Cultural Workers
Equity, Staff
External Link 1
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March 2020
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Murder of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky
Broader Culture, Racism
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"A Daily Report on How COVID-19 Is Impacting the Art World"
Equity, Staff
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COVID-19 pandemic begins in the US
Broader Culture
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February 2020
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Departure of Cooper Hewitt's Director Caroline Baumann
Departure, Staff
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Murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia
Broader Culture, Racism
External Link 1
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January 2020
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Report: CCLI National Landscape Study: The State of DEAI Practices in Museums
Diversity, Equity, Museums
External Link 1