1. Diversifying the Curatorial Profession
How the Internship/Fellowship Track
Can Be Our Essential Path Toward Change
Jen Mergel @jenmergel
Beal Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Co-Lead, Diversity Task Force
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Association of Art Museum Curators
@mfaboston @Art_Curators

2. https://aamd.org/our-members/from-the-field/art-museum-diversity-survey
Art
Museum
Staff
Demographic
Survey
June
2013:
Mellon
established
$2M
grant
for
undergraduate
fellowships
for
historically
underrepresented
minoriCes,
with
need
for
baseline
data
to
measure
demographic
homogeneity,
specifically
race
and
gender
Fall
2014:
Mellon
commissioned
survey
with
AAMD
and
AAM
distribuCon
to
secure
responses
from
181
museums
July
2015:
Findings
published
online
in
this
13-­‐
page
report:

6. Traditionalist: b. 1927-45
Baby Boomer: b. 1946-64
Generation X: b. 1965-79
Millennials: b. 1980-2000

7. Millennials: b. 1980-2000
“ Embracing Millennial Perspectives” (2016)
*Number 83.1 million (10 million more than Boomers)
*50% of the workforce by 2020
*Prefer working for “innovative organizations with a
public service mission” over large private companies
(2008 survey)
*64% say making world a better place is a priority
*79% want a boss to serve as a coach or mentor

8. https://aamd.org/our-members/from-the-field/art-museums-by-the-numbers-2015
AKendance
at
AAMD
museums
was
over
60
million
in
2015.
Visitors
spent
an
average
of
$8
per
visit,
while
museums
spent
approximately
$55
per
visitor.
These
numbers
underscore
Museums’
investment
in
public
service.

9. Diversifying the Curatorial
Profession Through Internships:
Four Perspectives