‘Poor Management’ Is Driving Workers from US Art Museums

Poor management, low pay and burnout are driving art museum workers across the United States way from the sector, according to the findings of a new report.

The Former Art Museum Workers Study was undertaken by Museums Moving Forward (MMF)—an independent organisation that describes itself as being “devoted to envisioning and creating a more just museum sector by 2030”—between May and July this year. The organisation received 681 responses from workers in every department area and position level in US art museums.

A significant majority—85 percent—of respondents said that poor management was one of the reasons they left the field, with two-thirds of that number saying it was a major factor in their departure. 

Former art museum workers also often connected low pay and burnout to poor management from directors and museum boards. Incidences of “poor management” included unclear communication and a lack of accountability mechanisms to protect workers from bad practice. 

The report’s conclusion states: “Taken together with MMF’s other research, this study makes clear that without attention to the failing accountability and governance structures, art museums will continue to drive people out of the field—including the very people most invested in the necessary work of transformational change.

“MMF believes firmly that this change is not optional if art museums want to meet their programmatic, operational, and financial goals. These institutions simply cannot remain relevant or impactful in the fast-changing cultural landscape if they do not evolve their internal cultures and become better, healthier places to work.”

Seventy-two percent of study respondents said they left voluntarily, rather than being laid off, although a significant proportion (44 percent) of this cohort said they felt pushed out. The study also revealed that former museum workers are finding better conditions away from the sector: 64 percent said they were earning more money and 55 percent said they had more opportunities for advancement. 

According to the report, workers said that leaving the museum sector allowed them to see the unhealthy culture they had experienced in their previous roles. One respondent said: “I carry a lot of trauma from the ways I was treated in my museum job(s). It has been eye opening to see how quickly and effectively poor behavior and treatment has been responded to in my new industry.”

A further factor in staff departures, the study revealed, was the “broader cultural upheaval” of funding cuts during the Trump era and politically motivated critiques of cultural institutions amid an atmosphere of mounting fear and censorship. Amid this pressure, workers noted a “considerable disconnect” between the way art museums present themselves—particularly in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion—and the reality of their internal culture.

In a statement, MMF said: “The critical insights of these former colleagues can help us better understand the areas of opportunity for art museums now and moving forward. If we are willing to hear [their] feedback and consider it alongside the data MMF has shared on working conditions across the field, then we can help art museums evolve to better meet the moment and support its people.”