CALL TO CURATORS: DEAIB PRACTICES: COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITIONS

The AAMC Foundation calls upon its members and curators everywhere to prioritize principles of diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and belonging (DEAIB) in their practices of collection management, exhibition planning, and acquisitions.  

This call reaffirms our Professional Practices for Art Curators in Nonprofits (PPG) that states “Curators in every aspect of their work, including but not limited to, collection development, exhibitions, hiring, mentoring, and more, need to put at the forefront of their efforts inclusivity and accessibility. Together we will ensure the profession embraces at its core collegiality, equity, inclusiveness, access, advocacy, and mentorship.” 

Furthermore, it also echoes our Code of Conduct for curators to apply DEAIB to their daily work and overall activities, and furthers our strategic plan vision of inclusion, access and advocacy.  It also supports the internal action plan of the AAMC Foundation to advance DEAIB programming, board development, and overall practices internally.  

By establishing this call, we ask curators to enact the efforts listed below, we envision that management, leadership, and governing bodies of art organizations around the globe will aid curators in this work and support them as they execute this pledge.  We recognize this is a small step forward in this long-term work.  However, we ask that as museums prioritize DEAI efforts in staffing, education, and audience engagement that they also include a commitment to DEAIB in collection management, exhibition planning, and acquisition policies. 

Application Across All Departments:  The responsibility of diverse and equitable collections and exhibitions does not rest solely on curators of contemporary and modern art.  Every field of study, time period, and sector of art historical knowledge needs to be included in DEAIB efforts in collections and exhibitions.  

Collection Reviews and Exhibition Data:  As institutions seek to quantify and promote the diversity of their collections and exhibitions, pressure is mounting to move swiftly to secure data identifying the race, ethnicity, and gender of artists and creators. However, this process, specifically for living artists, should be done through first-hand engagement, not through second-hand research alone.  The development of questionnaires and data gathering tools needs to engage curators, registrars, conservators, data and collection management teams, and diversity, data/digital and collection teams, as well as other key members of internal staff, and also should engage artists, data experts, and additional outside consultants.  Museums should work together, not in isolation, to gather this information to avoid repetitive efforts and to secure consistency and accuracy. Transparency in sharing data needs to be a focal point of this work.  Curators need to be vocal contributors in this process and reinforce open discourse, internally and externally, about how this data is secured, stored, and used.  In addition, curators should champion that the goals of these projects are clear and shared, and that institutions establish action plans based on their findings, which will ensure organizations will be held accountable.  

Exhibition Planning:  As stated in our PPG, “The goals of any exhibition should include increasing public understanding of a given subject; forging new narratives that expand the art historical canon; and enhancing visitor experience. The principles of diversity and inclusion must guide exhibition planning at all stages. Additionally, curators must tailor their programming to serve the needs of their audiences, being consciously aware of differing perspectives. Curators need to gather together community voices in developing programming, texts, and other materials around an exhibition.”  Curators need to apply this guidance in exhibition planning and execution.

Acquisitions:  As stated in our PPG, “Acquisition policies need to demonstrate the organization’s commitment to telling the most complete, inclusive, and multivalent narrative possible. New acquisitions should not only add depth to the collection but seek to fill and correct gaps within it, such as a lack of holdings by artists from underrepresented communities and cultures, and to adjust linear and traditional histories.”  Curators need to advocate for adjustments to acquisition policies, including those related to gifts and bequests, that align with DEAI efforts. They should also move forward in seeking and accepting acquisitions that meet the goal of diversifying collections.

Deaccessioning:  The AAMC Foundation policy towards deaccessioning is that funds from deaccessioning should only be used for new acquisitions and conservation of the collection. Our own PPG also states that “...deaccessioning can help expand an organization’s collection and fill or correct gaps, such as a lack of holdings by artists from underrepresented communities and cultures.”  We encourage curatorial efforts to review collections and make decisions to advance DEAIB efforts in equitable representation and expanding the art historical and cultural narratives represented in collections.