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Timeline

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

    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. Departure of SITE Santa Fe's Director Irene Hofmann Departure, Staff External Link 1
      5. Founding of Walker Worker Union (AFSCME) Staff, Unions 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. Balitmore Museum of Art suspends deaccession plan Diversity, Exhibitions, Museum Collections External Link 1
      2. Departure of PAFA (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art) President and CEO David Brigham Departure, Staff External Link 1
      3. Founding of Black Trustee Alliance Boards / Trustees, Museum Advocacy, Museum Boards External Link 1 External Link 2
      4. Baltimore Museum of Art Curators address deaccession plan Diversity, Exhibitions, Museum Collections External Link 1
      5. Departure of Guggenheim's Deputy Director and Chief Curator Nancy Spector Controversy, Departure, Staff External Link 1

    4. September 2020

      1. Philip Guston exhibition postponed Controversy, Museum External Link 1
      2. Museum Workers from Portland Museum of Art in Portland petititon for a Union election Staff, Unions External Link 1 External Link 2
      3. 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 A Better Guggenheim Equity, Staff External Link 1
      7. Launch of Change The Museum (@changethemuseum Instagram account) Racism, Staff, White Supremacy 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. Founding of Cultural New Deal Racism, Staff External Link 1 External Link 2

    8. May 2020

      1. Departure of Parrish Art Museum's Director Terrie Sultan Departure, Museum Directors, Staff External Link 1
      2. Murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis Broader Culture, Racism External Link 1
      3. Departure of Akron Art Museum Director Mark Masuoka Departure, Discrimination, Harassment, Staff External Link 1
      4. Departure of Telfair Museum's Director Robin Nicholson Departure, Staff External Link 1
      5. 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. Murder of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky Broader Culture, Racism External Link 1
      2. "A Daily Report on How COVID-19 Is Impacting the Art World" Equity, Staff External Link 1
      3. COVID-19 pandemic begins in the US Broader Culture External Link 1

    11. February 2020

      1. Departure of Cooper Hewitt's Director Caroline Baumann Departure, Staff External Link 1
      2. Murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia Broader Culture, Racism External Link 1

    12. January 2020

      1. Report: CCLI National Landscape Study: The State of DEAI Practices in Museums Diversity, Equity, Museums External Link 1