Museums struggle to embrace diversity in new documentary
In December 2019, Rein Wolfs took over as Director of the renowned Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and quickly set out to make its collection and staff more diverse and inclusive.
Joining the tour was filmmaker Sarah Vos, who for three years captured this pioneering effort by a major cultural institution to achieve greater diversity in its halls.
His camera watched as Wolfs, former director of the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, Germany, worked with museum staff to assess the collection’s scope and exhibition concepts.
The worrying conclusion was that less than 10% of the works in the collection are by women. Works by black, indigenous, or colored (BIPOC) artists were rarely seen.
The resulting documentary, “White Balls on Walls”, not only questions the level of diversity in the museum, but digs deeper into understanding the function of art in society.
Museums don’t think ‘outside the box’
In the past, cultural institutions “didn’t think outside the box enough,” Wolfs told DW.
In contrast, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam now wants to think more globally and, for example, align its concept of diversity with the population structure of Amsterdam.
“After all, we want everyone to have the opportunity to also find their own history and their own moments of identification”, he said.
The discussion about a new concept raises questions: can and should diversity be quantified through words or quotas? Should the origin and gender of artists play a role in evaluating art?
The Stedelijk team agreed on a quota: from 2021 to 2024, at least 50% of the acquisition budget must be spent on works by BIPOC artists. There are no fixed quotas for women’s work, but gender is a factor in the selection process.
In addition, there is at least one major annual exhibition by BIPOC artists or a group exhibition that addresses diversity, Wolf said.
A multitude of voices reflecting reality
Diversity plays an inherent role in ethnological museums with artifacts and art from around the world, including the Museum of World Cultures in Frankfurt.
The museum focuses on the art of indigenous people who are minorities in their home countries, said museum director Eva Raabe. Works by women, children and queer people are another focus of the collection and exhibitions.
Raabe said that it is not a question of specific quotas, but of the statement that the artists want to make with their work.
“Through their art, which is an expression of their opinions, their needs, their lives, they tell us about the reality of their lives,” she said.
By including a wide variety of perspectives, the selection is inherently diverse, she adds.
Meanwhile, KINDL — Center for Contemporary Art Berlin is looking for a “highly diverse exhibition program”, director Kathrin Becker tells DW.
“I also have a personal mission here, which I share with many colleagues in Berlin and elsewhere, which is to reach a multitude of voices in the presentation of contemporary art,” said Becker.
Gender identity, as well as ethnic and socioeconomic background, are important in this regard, she added.
Source: DW
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