Our Assessment
“Artist Howardena Pindell, a former curator at the Museum of Modern Art, compiled a seven-year statistical report on museum exhibitions and current New York gallery representation of the 11,000 black, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American painters, sculptors, craftspeople, photographers, graphic designers, and architects who live and work in New York State. As of mid-1988, according to data cited in the report, 39 galleries in New York City, including nearly all of the most prestigious spaces, represented only white artists. Only the artists in ten galleries out of a total of 64 surveyed throughout the state were less than 90 percent white, and one of those ten was in the process of closing. ”
—— Patricia Failing, How Top U.S. Art Museums Excluded Black Artists During the 1980s: From the Archives, ARTnews
The lack of equal representation among artists from different demographics remains a pressing issue in the U.S. art world. Our analysis of the targeted museums reveals discriminatory collection practices. Although the active social movements for anti-discrimination and equal rights in 1940s to 1960s America fostered a push for greater representation in art museums, the resulting increases in representation for women and non-white artists born during the Baby Boomer era are marginal. This disparity raises critical questions: Why do white male artists continue to dominate museum collections? Have these museums made genuine efforts to diversify their collections? What more can be done to ensure museums embrace and reflect diversity effectively?
In order to answer the question of why museums do not have equal representation in their collections, we need to examine the museums’ collecting practices. We were able to find the official collection policy documents for three of our four target museums, entitled Collection Management Policy: MoMA, SFMoMA, and Whitney Museums. Their policies are largely identical, sharing basic principles:
- Acquisitions must align with the museum mission.
- Works are acquired through purchases, gifts, bequests, or exchanges and must have clear legal ownership (provenance).
- Economic considerations such as immediate conservation and storage costs, are reviewed before acquisition approval.
- Once acquired, works become museum property, with rigorous stewardship and conservation practices.
We used Voyant Tool to analyze the mission statements of four major museums, revealing a shared focus on modern and contemporary works that reflect the sentiments of our time. Notably, none explicitly include diversity as part of their mission in their policy statements.
Yet, don’t the voices of marginalized artists also speak profoundly to our world and its complexities? Lowery Sims, associate curator of 20th-century art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and one of the most prominent Black curators of contemporary art in the United States, sheds light on this issue in an article for Atlanta’s Art Papers. Sims argues that mainstream contemporary art institutions often conflate the two meanings of “discrimination,” using aesthetic judgments to obscure and perpetuate racial exclusion.
“If many black artists now go to the same schools as white artists, learn from the same teachers, shop in the same art stores for the same materials, make the same slides and transparencies, frequent the same bars, why are they still on the periphery of the art world?” —— Lowery Sims
Sims attributes this to systemic economic inequities, noting that minority artists are denied full financial participation and are often promoted less effectively than their white peers. An unconscious but definite feeling seems to exist that their work does not merit comparable financial returns as their white gallery mates. Economic disparities are disguised by subjective notions of “quality,” “taste,” or “talent,” perpetuating an insidious cycle of exclusion.
Moreover, donors’ preferences significantly influence museum collections, especially in institutions reliant on private funding. Unlike national or government-controlled museums, the four targeted “superstar” museums attract massive tourism but lack substantial government support. For example, while the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) benefits from partial county funding, MOCA receives minimal government support and depends heavily on private donations to sustain its operations.
In her article Diversity Matters: Theoretical Understanding of and Suggestions for the Current Fundraising Practices of Nonprofit Art Museums, Yuhan Jung critiques U.S. art museums’ overreliance on traditional white, wealthy patrons. This dependence often skews museums’ priorities toward donors’ narrow interests, neglecting the broader needs and voices of their communities. A 2017 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) survey of around 850 institutions revealed that 46% of U.S. museum boards were entirely white. That same year, the AAM launched the Facing Change initiative to promote board diversity at 51 museums across various U.S. regions, backed by $4 million in grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Alice L. Walton Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.
Further progress came in September 2020, with the formation of the Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums. This organization advocates for Black staff, trustees, and narratives in museum displays and programs while encouraging partnerships with minority-owned businesses. Pamela J. Joyner, a prominent collector and member of the alliance’s steering committee, highlights evolving board compositions at significant institutions like the J. Paul Getty Trust, SF MoMA, and the Art Institute of Chicago. She notes that a new profile of trustee is emerging—individuals with meaningful agency to enact change.
These efforts underscore how museums can actively foster diversity. Rather than merely urging the art industry’s power players to improve representation for non-white, non-male, and non-heterosexual groups, we now see initiatives driven by marginalized communities themselves. Scholars, curators, and artists are forming networks, encouraging dialogue, and collectively reshaping the discriminatory landscape of museums. Such community-driven action is essential to ensuring lasting transformation in the art world. These initiatives also inspire our hope for a more inclusive future in the art world. As marginalized communities and allies continue to advocate for equity, we see the potential for museums to transform into spaces that genuinely reflect the diversity of society. By amplifying underrepresented voices, fostering inclusive leadership, and prioritizing community engagement, museums can evolve beyond their traditional confines and become catalysts for meaningful cultural and social change. The progress made so far is a promising foundation, but sustained effort and collaboration will be key to achieving lasting impact.