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Topic: Museums

Past Event
December 1, 2023

The Mellon Foundation and Ford Foundation Cultural Data Convening

On December 1st, at 3:00pm -4:30pm EST, Deirdre Harkins and Liam Sweeney will present on the 2022 Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, and 2022 Art Museum Directors Survey. Hosted by Julia Halperin and Charlotte Burns, authors of the Burns/Halperin report, this convening was created with the goal of creating connections and exploring ways to learn more about similar projects in the field.
Blog Post
August 28, 2023

Archives in the Anthropocene

An Interview with Eira Tansey

Cultural organizations and the government agencies that support them are increasingly devoting serious attention and financial resources to reducing their carbon footprints and climate-proofing their facilities. In a new addition to the growing body of literature on the topic, archivist and founder of the consulting firm Memory Rising, Eira Tansey outlines an ambitious policy agenda for mitigating the threats that climate change poses to archival collections and archivists. The agenda she proposes in A Green New Deal for…
Blog Post
August 23, 2023

Reflections from the 2023 Association of African American Museums Conference

At the end of July, I flew to Nashville to attend the 45th annual Association of African American Museums (AAAM) meeting. Established in 1978, AAAM, a non-profit membership organization, provides support to African and African American focused museums and their dedicated professionals. This year’s conference delved into the significant roles of the African American community in shaping museums, music, and societal movements. As a new member and a first-time attendee, I was excited to explore the conference offerings and…
Issue Brief
June 8, 2023

Living Wages

Art Museum Leaders Confront Persistent Staff Compensation Challenges

Movements for pay equity, including raising minimum wages and increasing pay transparency, have been building momentum in grassroots and policy arenas across the United States. As a result, museums, like many employers, face mounting pressure to better align their compensation practices with their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments. Ithaka S+R’s research has found that the majority of art museum directors view pay equity as a high priority at their organization and are finding attracting and retaining diverse and talented staff…
Blog Post
May 4, 2023

2022 Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey Dashboard

Last year, Ithaka S+R, in partnership with the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), and with funding from the Mellon Foundation, was able to launch the third cycle of the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey. Filling out this survey can be time intensive, as rather than survey staff directly, we ask that museums submit data that has been recorded in their human resources system. This requires museum directors or their designee to fill…
Blog Post
March 16, 2023

How Art Museums Are Responding to and Preparing for Climate Change

Art museums, like other organizations that maintain collections for public access, face complex challenges from the threat of climate change. Leaders are challenged to assess their collecting practices to both adapt to new variations in temperature and humidity and reduce their practices’ carbon footprints. Facilities, which in some cases are inseparable from their collections (such as gardens or historic houses), face increasing frequency and severity of damage from storms, fires, and rising tides. At the same time, museum directors must…
Issue Brief
March 16, 2023

How Have Art Museums Been Impacted by Climate Change?

With climate change increasingly destabilizing environments, art museums find themselves in a highly precarious position, as they serve as a physical site for visitors, maintain their collections in perpetuity for future generations, and adapt their own practices to environmental sustainability standards. Ithaka S+R’s 2022 Art Museum Director Survey report, funded by the Kress Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, documents art museum leaders’ perspectives and strategies across a range of issues, including how museums are impacted by and planning for climate…
Past Event
May 21, 2023

Climate and Community: New Directions from the Art Museum Director Survey

Session at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting

In a session at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, Liam Sweeney and Joanna Dressel will discuss new directions on climate change and community from the Art Museum Director Survey, published in October 2022, which included a new line of questions on how museums have experienced and are preparing for climate related damage. The session is scheduled to take place on May 21 at 10:50 – 11:15 am MDT.
Past Event
May 21, 2023

Highlights from the 2022 Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey

Session at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting

Ithaka S+R’s Liam Sweeney, Deirdre Harkins, and Joanna Dressel will present a session at the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting on highlights from the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, published in November 2022. Learn about results from the survey and the latest data and findings on demographics of art museum staff across the US. The session is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 21 at  9:10 – 9:35 am MDT.
Past Event
May 21, 2023

Living Wages in the Museum Field: Signs of a Crisis on the Horizon

Session at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting

On Sunday, May 21 at 8:40 – 9:05 am MDT at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, Ithaka S+R’s Liam Sweeney, Deirdre Harkins, and Joanna Dressel will present a session on signs of a crisis on the horizon for the museum field, drawing insights from the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, published in November 2022.
Past Event
May 19, 2023

BTA and Ithaka S+R: Perspectives from the Art Museum Trustee Survey

Session at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting

On Friday, May 19 at 11:30 – 12:30 pm MDT at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, Ithaka S+R Senior Analyst Liam Sweeney and Analyst Deirdre Harkins will present a session on the Black Trustees Alliance for Art Museums and Ithaka S+R Art Museum Trustee Survey, published in November, 2022. The survey examined the experiences and demographics of art museum trustees from museums in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Blog Post
January 31, 2023

Insights from the A*CENSUS II Archives Administrators Report

On Tuesday, January 31, we published the A*CENSUS II Archives Administrators Survey findings. The Archives Administrator Survey Report is the second report in the A*CENSUS II series, the first being the All Archivists Survey Report published in August 2022. The Archives Administrators Survey gathered data from the most senior archives leaders and decision makers regardless of the size of the archives, including administrators who oversee large archives organizations, archives units within broader institutions, and small community archives collections.
Past Event
February 17, 2023

Insights from the A*CENSUS II Archives Administrators Report

On February 17, from 2:00-3:30 pm (ET), Makala Skinner and Beth Myers will present findings from the A*CENSUS II Archives Administrators Survey during a webinar hosted by Ithaka S+R. The Archives Administrators Survey is the second survey of A*CENSUS II, the first being the All Archivists Survey, initially published in August, 2022. The Archives Administrators Survey report, published on January 31, includes data on budgets, collection sizes, staff recruitment and retention, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,…
Research Report
January 31, 2023

A*CENSUS II: Archives Administrators Survey

Seven hundred and forty-six archives administrators representing academic institutions, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, and community archives across the United States shared information about their organizations and their perspectives on key issues in the field by completing the A*CENSUS II Archives Administrators Survey. This report shares findings on archives’ budget and collection sizes, staff recruitment and retention, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility practices.
Past Event
January 24, 2023

2022 Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey

Association of Art Museum Directors Webinar

On January 24th, at 12:00 – 1:00 pm EST, Liam Sweeney, Deirdre Harkins, Joanna Dressel, and Mellon Foundation program officer Deborah Cullen-Morales will present findings from the third cycle of the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey at a webinar hosted by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD). The report, published in November 2022, covers information on the demographics of art museum staff since the first cycle in 2014, including a closer analysis of all art museum positions, as…
Blog Post
November 16, 2022

New Insights on Trustees and Staff in Art Museums

The Black Trustee Alliance 2022 Art Museum Trustee Survey and the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey 2022

Today Ithaka S+R releases two research reports, the 2022 Art Museum Trustee Survey and the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey 2022, which introduce new insights into key constituencies in the cultural sector. For roughly a decade Ithaka S+R has produced research reports that shed light on strategy and leadership, staff demographics and employment characteristics, as well as governance and organizational structure within art museums.
Research Report
November 16, 2022

The BTA 2022 Art Museum Trustee Survey

The Characteristics, Roles, and Experiences of Black Trustees

The Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums (BTA) has partnered with Ithaka S+R to examine the experiences and demographics of art museum trustees from museums in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Through a shared interest in representation in the arts, BTA and Ithaka S+R fielded the Art Museum Trustee Survey to board members in the fall of 2021. The report investigates the characteristics, roles, and experiences of Black trustees in North American art museums.
Research Report
November 16, 2022

Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey 2022

With support from the Mellon Foundation and in partnership with AAM and AAMD, Ithaka S+R conducted a third cycle of the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey. As museums have struggled with revenue losses due to the pandemic, many in the field expressed concern that museums would grow less diverse. This study shows that the opposite is true. Findings shed light on the trajectory of demographic changes and the impact of the pandemic on staffing.
Blog Post
October 27, 2022

Announcing the 2022 Art Museum Director Survey

The leaders of art museums are responsible for the collection, programming, and employment strategies that influence the health and vibrancy of our public culture. In the years following the start of the pandemic and calls for racial justice after the murder of George Floyd, art museum directors' strategies have shifted towards a dramatic increase in virtual and digital programming, as well more highly prioritizing diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, according to findings from the 2022 Art Museum Director Survey.
Research Report
October 27, 2022

Art Museum Director Survey 2022

Documenting Change in Museum Strategy and Operations

In April 2022, with funding from the Kress Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, and in partnership with the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), Ithaka S+R launched the second iteration of the Art Museum Director Survey. One hundred and eighty-one art museum directors completed the attitudinal survey, sharing perspectives about the institution they represent, as well as the museum sector as a whole.