Timeline

1. 1. March 2024

      1. Museums Struggle to Respond as Pressure Mounts to Take a Stand on Gaza Free Palestine Movement, Protest External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. Andy Warhol Museum Director Resigns Museum Directors, Resignation External Link 1 External Link 2
      3. Smithsonian American Art Museum Hires Dalila Scruggs as First African American Art Curator Staff External Link 1 External Link 2
      4. Open Letter: The Met Employees Concerning the Destruction of Cultural Heritage Sites in Gaza Free Palestine Movement, Open letter External Link 1 External Link 2
      5. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts CEO Resigns Over Pro-Palestine Action Free Palestine Movement, Museum Directors, Protest, Resignation External Link 1 External Link 2

   2. February 2024

      1. After three weeks, MASS MoCA strike ends as union workers, management agree to two-year contract Strike, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. MoMA PS1 Workers Urge Director Connie Butler to “Settle a Fair Contract” Museum Directors, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      3. Adrienne Edwards Appointed Senior Curator and Associate Director of Curatorial Programming at the Whitney Museum Staff External Link 1 External Link 2
      4. Minneapolis Institute of Art Staffers Allege Toxic Work Environment Protest, Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      5. Marilyn Jackson Named the New President and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums Leadership, Museum Directors External Link 1 External Link 2
      6. Oakland Museum Union Announced Amid a National Wave of Museum Organizing Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      7. Portland Museum of Art to Cut 13 Positions, Citing Pandemic Fallout Staff External Link 1 External Link 2
      8. Protesters Take to MoMA, Demanding Museum Drop Its Board Chair Boards / Trustees, Free Palestine Movement, Protest External Link 1 External Link 2
      9. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Workers Announce Union Campaign Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      10. MoMA Promotes Michelle Kuo to Chief Curator at Large and Publisher Staff External Link 1 External Link 2
      11. Anti-Zionist Protesters Crash Event at NYC’s Jewish Museum Free Palestine Movement, Protest External Link 1 External Link 2
      12. Open Letter: MoMA Employees Regarding the Ongoing Crisis in Palestine Free Palestine Movement, Open letter External Link 1 External Link 2
      13. ArtTable Survey Sheds Light on Hardships Faced by Arts Workers of Color Data, Racial Injustice, Survey External Link 1 External Link 2
      14. Newfields' handling of CEO's exit is 'an unforced error' eroding public trust, experts say Departure, Museum Directors External Link 1 External Link 2
      15. Ongoing Dispute Over Contract Enforcement at PMA Pay / Compensation, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2

   3. January 2024

      1. Rubin Museum Closes Physical Site After 20 Years Funding, Museums External Link 1 External Link 2
      2. US Museum Funding Crisis Worsens Funding External Link 1 External Link 2
      3. Museum Leaders Urge NYC Mayor to Reverse Budget Cuts Funding, Museum Directors External Link 1 External Link 2
      4. International Museum Group Decries Censorship of Pro-Palestine Artists and Cultural Workers Artist-Driven Activism, Free Palestine Movement, Open letter External Link 1 External Link 2
      5. Denver Art Museum Workers Announce Union Campaign Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      6. Six Newfields Trustees Resign After Unexpected Exit of CEO Boards / Trustees, Departure External Link 1 External Link 2

2. 1. December 2021

      1. "Virginia's Massive Robert E. Lee Statue Has Been Removed" Monuments, Protest External Link 1
      2. 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. Land Back Art Campaign Indigenous Rights, Protest External Link 1
      2. Founding of Baltimore Museum of Art Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      3. 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 Philadelphia Museum of Art's Director and CEO Timothy Rub Departure, Museum Directors External Link 1
      2. Departure of the Phillips Collection's Director and CEO's Dorothy Kosinski Departure, Museum Directors External Link 1
      3. Departure of Palm Springs Art Museum's Curator Rochelle Steiner Departure, Staff External Link 1

   7. June 2021

      1. Departure of Phoenix Art Museum's Director Tim Rodgers Departure, Museum Directors External Link 1
      2. Berlin Museum Board to Negotiate Return of Benin Bronzes Repatriation External Link 1
      3. Departure of Memphis Brooks Museum of Art's Director Emily Ballew Neff Departure, Museum Directors External Link 1

   8. May 2021

      1. Departure of PAFA's Director Brooke Davis Anderson Departure, Museum Directors External Link 1
      2. Departure of Winterthur Museum's Director and CEO Carol B. Cadou Departure, Museum Directors External Link 1

   9. 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
      5. Founding of Strike MoMA Artist-Driven Activism, Protest, Strike, White Supremacy External Link 1 External Link 2

   10. March 2021

       1. Departure of MoMA Chairman Leon Black Boards / Trustees, Museum External Link 1
       2. Departure of Bellevue Arts Museum Executive Director Benedict Heywood Departure, Staff External Link 1
       3. Atlanta spa shootings Anti-Asian Hate, Mass Shooting, Racism External Link 1
       4. Artists pull out of Chicago MCA Exhibition in Protest of Worker Layoffs Artist-Driven Activism, Protest, Staff External Link 1 External Link 2

   11. February 2021

       1. Baltimore Museum of Art receives $1M for equity initiatives Diversity, Exhibitions, Museum Collections External Link 1
       2. Departure of MOCA Los Angeles Human Resources Director Carlos Viramontes Departure, Staff External Link 1
       3. Departure of Newfield's Director and CEO Charles Venable Departure, Museum Directors External Link 1
       4. First Collective Bargaining Agreement with IUOE Local 30 Guggenheim Workers Union Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
       5. Cultural Workers address Indianapolis Museum of Art job posting controversy Controversy, Racism, Staff External Link 1
       6. Departure of SFMOMA's Director Neal Benezra Departure, Museum Directors, Staff External Link 1
       7. 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
       8. Departure of Carnegie Museum of Art's Deputy Director Ronald Lee Newman Departure, Staff External Link 1

   12. January 2021

       1. Departure of MCA Chicago's Chief Curator Michael Darling Departure, Staff External Link 1
       2. Naomi Beckwith Named Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Guggenheim Museum Leadership, Museum Directors External Link 1 External Link 2
       3. Time's Up Museums changes its name to Museums Moving Forward

3. 1. December 2014

      1. Joint statement from museum bloggers & colleagues on Ferguson & related events Museum Advocacy External Link 1
      2. #museumsrespondtoferguson coined by Aleia Brown and Adrianne Russell Museum Advocacy External Link 1

   2. August 2014

      1. Murder of Michael Brown and subsequent nationwide wide protests in Ferguson, Missouri Racial Injustice External Link 1