Board diversity is not enough
Diversifying museum boards is not enough to attract and maintain diverse supporters, says Patricia Banks, professor of sociology at 果冻传媒 College.
Across the world, Black trustees of museums have joined forces in an effort to create more diverse boards in order to increase inclusion of Black voices and artists.
But diversifying the boards that oversee museums is not enough, wrote Patricia A. Banks, professor of sociology at 果冻传媒 College, in a letter to the editor published by The New York Times.
Banks, whose books include 鈥,鈥 was recently appointed as co-editor in chief of Poetics, a journal for empirical research on culture, media and the arts.
Her own research showed, Banks noted, that Black supporters of museums did so 鈥渘ot only because of their focus on African-American artists, but also because of their outreach to African-American audiences and employment of a diverse staff.鈥
Therefore, she said, efforts to diversify museums must be done holistically to resonate with diverse patrons.
鈥淢useums that want to increase board diversity will need to take a hard look at the diversity of their institutions as a whole,鈥 Banks wrote.
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