Dear Colleague,
Over the past three years, Ithaka S+R and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have partnered to conduct wide-scale analyses on employee diversity in cultural organizations, including in academic libraries and museums. Across these sectors, a common picture has emerged: staff in professional roles are predominately white.
But, as we found in our study of American art museums, there are outliers—organizations that have made significant strides in diversifying staff in curatorial, education, conservation, and leadership positions.
Today, in partnership with the Mellon Foundation and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), we are
publishing four case studies, the first group in a series of eight, which take a closer look at these museums. What practices are effective in making the American art museum more inclusive? By what measures? How have these museums been successful in diversifying their professional staff? What do leaders on issues of social justice, equity, and inclusion in the art museum have to share with their peers? And, most importantly, can the strategies employed in these museums help other cultural organizations diversify their ranks?
