“Struggling is not enough”

 

The "Bristol effect", initiated by the protesters’ take down of a statue of Edward Colston, slave trader, into the waters of Bristol harbour in the UK on7 June, spreads rapidly. On June 22, the American Museum of Natural History in New York announced that it will remove the statue of Theodore Roosevelt at its entrance, recognizing that it symbolizes and glorifies colonial expansion and racial discrimination. In Brazil, it is debated whether the statue of the colonizer Borba Gato in Sao Paulo should be removed.

 

In late June, a post by Keith Christiansen, president of the European painting department of the Metropolitan Museum (MET), also in NYC, sparked controversy by stating that "monuments should be protected against `zealots´, prompting employees to accuse the museum of promoting "a culture of systemic racism”. Later he retracted the post.

 

Also in late June, Hamburg Ballet came under criticism for posting a video called "No to Racism" on its Facebook page. In the video the company states that it "defends diversity and cultural plurality, justice and equity", but does not explain why none of its dancers are black. During #BlackOutTuesday and the following demonstrations many other letters of solidarity and laconic black screens posted in the feeds of various institutions have also been criticized.

 

"While it is encouraging to see the museum recognize the urgency of this global human rights issue, more needs to be done." That's what curator Rea McNamara stated in her text "Why your letter of support to the #BlackLivesMatters is not enough", addressed to the directors of the Gardiner Museum in Toronto (Canada). In it she mentions several episodes during her time as a program manager that evidence the difference between theory and practice when it comes to equity and antiracism within organizations.

 

Also in June, more than 300 employees, former employees and supporters of some of NYC largest cultural organizations (including the MET, the Metropolitan Opera, MOMA, and the Guggenheim Museum) created the coalition #ForTheCulture that intends to "denounce cases of institutional misconduct and white supremacy existing within cultural institutions." In the letter they state that they

 

" will no longer accept forced silencing when we complain about the lack of commitment to the well-being of black/brown employees and the patronizing - yet dismissive responses we receive to reports of bullying or hostility in the workplace, unfair practices, unequal pay, lack of growth, etc. ... The time for discussion has passed, while you refuse to engage in any meaningful dialogue. Now it's time for action."

 

 

The news of the reopening of the Louvre Museum, scheduled for July 6, was featured by the New York Times in an interview with its director Jean-Luc Martinez, in which he defends an idea similar to the curator of the MET, stating that "destroying statues and works of art is something that happens in dictatorships". However, what surprised me most was his unwavering disbelief at the ongoing transformations. "Contrary to what some people think, the world after coronavirus will not be so different from the world before," he says at the end of the interview, although his museum expects an 80% visitor drop in the coming months and is expected to follow strict security protocols indefinitely.

 

I believe his statement is deeper than it seems at first reading. Maybe what may not change post-pandemic is what Joao Fernandes and Marcelo Araújo called "the normal that was not normal" when speaking of the context in which many museums - and other major cultural institutions - operate that were:

 

 

Unlike Mr. Martinez I tend to believe that many changes were already underway, and I hope that many will continue in the world and in the cultural sector, either because of or despite the pandemic we are experiencing. What we see now, through the strength and urgency of the #BlackLivesMatter is the possibility of a cascading movement. After all, when we talk about social justice broadly, all causes are related.

 

 

Currently a lot of things happen at the same time and established cultural organizations are pushed towards a necessary, albeit late, process of self-assessment and change. But in reality, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates some transformations that were already on its way.

 

Before the statues of imperialists and slave traders fell, museums have already begun to be questioned about the repatriation of works of art and cultural heritage from former colonies and indigenous populations. Their narratives and curatorial positionings have become the subject of public pressure, and the term "decolonization" is increasingly present in the context of museums — like the various actions of the Decolonize this place movement or the MASS Action project (Museum as Site for Social Action) with the aim of aligning museums with more equitable and inclusive practices.  

 

The financial and management practices of the institutions are also on scrutiny. In 2019, the Whitney Museum in New York was the target of protests following the revelation that its vice chairman, Warren Kanders, was a partner in an arms and tear gas company involved in anti-immigrant operations on the Mexican border. The scandal led to his resignation and sparked a debate about the relationship of dependence between major American cultural institutions and the country's great fortunes. In May 2020, former employees of the Afro Brazil Museum in Sao Paulo published an open letter pointing out the organization's misconduct in managing the COVID-19 crisis by laying off 23 of the 80 employees - mostly black ones - "without presenting any proposal on reducing wages, workloads or suspending contracts, or even opening a negotiating channel to deal with the issue with workers."

 

In 2018 and 2019, professionals from the UK and the US created movements demanding more transparency in museum wage policies (Fair Museum Jobs and Arts + Museum Transparency). And actions such as the movement Gender Equity in Museums and the numerous developments of the #MeToo debate in the entertainment industry have helped put gender issues on the agenda of cultural institutions around the world.

 

The orchestral sector also feels the winds of change. In 2019, the BBC declared that it would adopt gender balance in all new commissions of contemporary musical pieces from 2020 on. And in the U.S., where according to data from the League of American Orchestras less than 2% of musicians and 4.3% of orchestral conductors are black, the orchestral world begins to wonder why it still remains so white.

 

 

 

Facing the pandemic crisis and its consequences, we may think that society — and the cultural sector — already has too much to deal with. But crises do not choose priorities. Even if the cultural sector has advanced its agendas, there is still much to do. And many professionals are tired of waiting. According to #ForTheCulture

 

 

This "pandemic collision", more than any other crisis, can bring a chance of self-criticism and improvements in cultural institutions. In a text, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, recalls that "extraordinary times require extraordinary measures" by announcing an unprecedented change in the management of its endowment fund and a $1 billion investment for social justice projects led by nonprofits in the United States. In the role of a black leader in dialogue with other mostly white leaders, he has something important to say:

 

 

What Walker also reminds us of is that leadership is a practice and not a position. So, to start changing our cultural organizations, leaders and teams need to recognize the need for transformation. A first step is to reflect on how aspects of our identity —including ethnicity, class, gender, age, and access to power—influence our practices, working relationships, and therefore our institutions. And then turn reflection into actions that may start small, but they need to start somewhere. Andrew Plumey, Director of Inclusion at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) recently published a text with basic tips, such as to never releasing a public statement without first making an internal statement to the institution itself and talking directly to black employees about how they feel in their workplaces.

 

But institutions can go much further by inserting racial debate and its historical contours into projects or their annual planning. We have good examples in Brazil, such as the Rio de Janeiro Art Museum (MAR) with its continuous work throughout its seven years of existence through  exhibitions, annual events - such as the Training on Education and Ethnic-Racial Relations - and podcasts. Another recent example is the project "Art and Decolonization" of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) in partnership with the British Afterall Research Center.

 

Actions like these pave the way for the structural changes that are really needed. Also in June, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture launched "Talking About Race”, an online platform designed to help individuals, families and communities talk about racism, ethnic identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of American society, economy, and politics.

 

On June 19 (the day of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. 1865), the New York Philharmonic made a first step and published a "commitment to change", in which it recognizes that it has "much to learn about the history of racism in our nation historically" and states that it will implement "programs to amplify the voices of artists, composers and the black community." They recognize that this is going to be a long process, but it will begin immediately and that it will involve programming to employment, governance, performance, education, and community partnerships. In the current context, a public compromise is much more important than a letter of solidarity or black screen posted on your social media feed. 

 

 

In a recent text, I quoted Dan Spock and made a provocation about the chance of the cultural sector to innovate now that we are all physically "out of the boxes" (our museums, theaters and arts organizations). But eventually we will go back to the boxes and they must be different from what they were — because the world will be different from what it was.

 

Thus, I end this text with the power of images and the spirit of time. The events of this week reminded me of an image I saw on my penultimate day in the pre-pandemic world in early March. The text on a collage says, "Change the perspective and build from within."

 

 

Big changes can be pressed by external forces, but they have to happen from the inside out. Not being racist has never been and it is not enough anymore. We need anti-racist organisations and actions if we want to achieve equity. We must keep changing our perspective and reviewing our monuments, our narratives, our practices, and our organizations. Not just during the pandemic. Change will not be easy, but I don't think we have no way back. So we have to move forward (and fast).