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A consortium of art foundations and charitable organisations has launched a new funding initiative that aims to promote diversity and inclusion in art museum leadership roles across the US
Lauren Heath-Jones | Planet Attractions | 05 May 2023
The fund aims to encourage diversity in leadership roles at 19 museums across the US Credit: Bryon Summers via Mellon Foundation
A consortium of art foundations and charitable organisations in the US has launched a new funding initiative aiming to promote diversity and inclusion in art museum leadership roles across the country.
Founded by the Alice L. Walton Foundation; the Mellon Foundation; Pilot House Philanthropy and the Ford Foundation, the Leadership in Art Museums (LAM) initiative has committed to donating US$11m (€10m, £8.75m) over the next five years to increase racial equity in leadership positions across museum departments including conservation, education, community engagement and curatorial.
The move comes after the Mellon Foundation’s 2022 Art Museum Staff Demographic survey found that people from diverse backgrounds represented only 27% of staff in leadership positions at more than 300 museums. LAM aims to increase this number by supplying the finances to create diverse leadership positions at 19 museums across the US on the promise that these positions will be made permanent after the five-year funding cycle.
LAM says that selected institutions have also had to pledge that their hiring processes will encourage a diverse pool of applicants in a “manner that is inclusive of communities of colour, including Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Arab, Asian and Pacific Islander communities.”
“If we want arts in this country to stay vibrant, moving and transformational, it’s imperative that these institutions bring in more diverse leadership perspectives and lived experiences,” said Foundation president Darren Walker.
“LAM’s vision is to grow and invest in diverse leadership at US art museums to ensure their excellence and relevance in the future.”
The list of 19 LAM museums features several major institutions, including the Museum of Contemporary Art; Los Angeles and MASS MoCA; Massachusetts, as well as several smaller museums such as the Newark Museum of Art; New Jersey, and the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens; Florida.
“Ultimately, the future of museums depends on their ability to stay relevant and serve their communities,” said philanthropist and collector Alice Walton.
“The LAM museums represent a variety of regions across the US and help ensure that we’re increasing access to museum roles in a way that’s inclusive of communities of colour, no matter where the art institution is based.”
A full list of LAM museums can be found here.
Museums and galleries
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