MFA layoffs draw scrutiny, accusations of shift away from DEI
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MFA Boston. Photo: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
While the MFA grapples with an eight-figure deficit, some are taking the museum to task over its decision to lay off nonwhite curators and the director of belonging and inclusion.
Why it matters: The layoffs have dismayed some visitors who accuse leadership of abandoning their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, which a museum representative called "completely false."
- The MFA is the latest museum to downsize amid a nationwide downturn, citing a $13-million budget gap.
Catch up quick: The MFA laid off 33 people last week and cut 23 vacant roles, marking a combined 10% staff reduction, per reports from GBH News and WBUR.
- A Change.org petition launched Thursday night said the layoffs affected nonwhite curators dedicated to Native American Art, Islamic Art and Fashion.
- It also said two other employees working on teen programming were affected.
State of play: The museum eliminated its belonging and inclusion director as well as its chief of learning and community engagement as part of a broader restructuring.
- While the senior community engagement role existed since 2018, both positions were mentioned as "good-faith efforts" in an agreement the MFA reached with the state attorney general's office in 2020 to resolve allegations of racism against seventh-graders from the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy. (The deal expired in 2023.)
- Olga Khvan, a museum spokesperson, said the museum's commitment to DEI precedes the agreement with the attorney general and that its belonging and inclusion role is "evolving."
Between the lines: The work of the senior community engagement role will be incorporated into a new division led by the chief of audience experience and engagement.
- The manager of staff development and workplace culture will take over the responsibilities once assumed by the belonging and inclusion director.
Yes, but: The elimination of those two senior roles, along with layoffs affecting nonwhite curators and staffers, sparked criticism from some Boston-area residents.
- The online petition, which has garnered just more than 1,700 signatures, calls for the reinstatement of assistant curator of Islamic Art Nadirah Mansour and at least four other staffers of color.
- Mansour, one of the only visibly Muslim curators of Islamic Art in North America, declined comment. Neither the petition creator nor the other staffers responded to requests for comment.
The other side: Khvan said in an email to Axios that the layoffs resulted from a "careful, deliberative process involving input from the whole MFA — not an action targeting any group of employees, department or division."
- Khvan said 32% of the current staff are Black, indigenous or people of color, the same percentage as before the layoffs.
What they're saying: Ayia Elsadig, a Boston resident, often visited the MFA and was looking forward to attending Ramadan programming planned by Mansour.
- After learning about the layoffs, Elsadig shared her concerns in an Instagram reel: "I wonder what message they're trying to send in this safe, DEI-free Trump era," she said.
- Asked about events related to Islamic Art, Khvan said the museum hadn't made any decisions about programming.
What we're watching: MFA Director Pierre Terjanian told the Boston Globe that the layoffs would save the museum $5.4 million, covering only part of the shortfall.
- Despite its operating gap, the museum's endowment has increased to $830 million, per the Globe.